California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,096,163 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $21,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 132,535 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,582,000 after buying an additional 33,496 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $874,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $20.14 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.19.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.