Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 212,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,428,000. Wendy’s accounts for about 0.7% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Blueshift Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Wendy’s at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 6.2% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 836,626 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,554,000 after acquiring an additional 48,736 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 398.2% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 192,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 153,604 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $448,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,012,000 after purchasing an additional 464,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 82.3% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 72,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 32,792 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 target price on Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.86.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ WEN opened at $8.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $7.83 and a 12 month high of $18.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.11.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $442.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.75 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

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.