Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $886,000 in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 54,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1,072.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 237,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after purchasing an additional 217,688 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 296.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,031,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,678,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.58.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $12.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.94. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $12.05 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

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.