American International Group Inc. Lowers Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

American International Group Inc. cut its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 227,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 13,229 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Wendy’s worth $4,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 328.8% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $16.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $16.22 and a 52-week high of $22.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.77.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

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.