Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,561 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.24% of Wendy’s worth $11,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 81,161 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 35,183 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,011 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 26,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.8 %

WEN stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.79. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.56, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.86% and a return on equity of 47.23%. The firm had revenue of $561.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.50 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.28.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 2,905,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $58,983,050.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,827,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,889,297.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 20.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.