The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 16.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,860 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,071 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,627,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after buying an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $20,574,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $17,094,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Wendy’s by 83.0% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 438,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,445,000 after acquiring an additional 199,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $17.79 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.24.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.