Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 397,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 157,477 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Wendy’s worth $6,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,461,000 after acquiring an additional 102,769 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 98.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 87,254 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 90.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 52,225 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter worth $1,659,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 254.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 175,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 125,851 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN opened at $16.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.56. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WEN. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

About Wendy’s

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.