Wendy’s Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 10,371 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 44% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,213 put options.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $11.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.11 and a 200-day moving average of $14.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $10.91 and a 1 year high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. The trade was a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 27.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 7.9% in the first quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 13,618 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.