Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,987 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $49,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth $763,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,461,000 after purchasing an additional 102,769 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $451,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 152,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,673,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $12.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.09. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $12.05 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG 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.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.69.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.