Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $914,000 Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 46,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $914,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% in 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 period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $19.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 102.04%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

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 shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WEN. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.47.

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.