Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,693 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 193.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 842,856 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 484.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 173,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $20.14 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $17.64 and a 12-month high of $23.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share 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 given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WEN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.53.

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.