Sciencast Management LP Invests $256,000 in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 2,334.5% during the fourth quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 4,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $15.26 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Argus upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.