Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 60,706 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 60,706 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 76.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960,526 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,446,000 after purchasing an additional 70,514 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,356 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,745,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,559,000 after acquiring an additional 102,512 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEN. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The business had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.