Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 28,407 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 grew its stake in shares of 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $14.55 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.80. 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 capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.