MQS Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

MQS Management LLC raised its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,306 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,699 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $397,469,000 after buying an additional 1,273,140 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 98.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 87,254 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth $17,094,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 159.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 36,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 254.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 175,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 125,851 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEN. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.44 and a 200 day moving average of $17.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Profile

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.