Guggenheim Capital LLC Raises Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 61.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 31,228 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $44,445,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 386.3% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,586,996 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,914,000 after buying an additional 1,260,639 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter valued at $26,018,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $24,958,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter valued at $23,989,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 2,905,569 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $58,983,050.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,827,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,889,297.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 20.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on Wendy’s from $29.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.50 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.28.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.4 %

WEN opened at $19.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.90. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $18.50 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.56.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.28. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 47.23% and a net margin of 8.86%. The company had revenue of $561.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.24 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.11%.

Wendy’s Company 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.