Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,457 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEN. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3,249.7% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,527 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,407,503 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $16,678,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,938,000 after purchasing an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,031,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN stock opened at $12.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.91 and a fifty-two week high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WEN. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.34.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s 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.