Northern Trust Corp Buys 1,411,912 Shares of The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 89.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,411,912 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.56% of Wendy’s worth $43,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 7,180.9% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 price target on Wendy’s in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, August 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.82.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $10.50 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $9.74 and a 12-month high of $20.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.31.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.The business had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.33%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 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, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.