Huntington National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Huntington National Bank reduced its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,988 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 856 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $13.30 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $13.22 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.97 and a 200 day moving average of $16.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.52%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEN. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s 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.