Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 83.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 438,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 199,078 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.21% of Wendy’s worth $7,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.24.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $17.77 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.70.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.