Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 34,908 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,908 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 16.9% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,461,000 after purchasing an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $13,358,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $4,318,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEN opened at $13.17 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.37. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $12.05 and a twelve month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. As a group, analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WEN. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.97.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.