Raymond James & Associates Sells 2,989 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,537 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,989 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Wendy’s by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 32,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 80,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WEN. Truist Financial cut their target price on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $19.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.82. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $17.64 and a 1-year high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.02). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The firm had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.04%.

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.