BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,768 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Wendy’s were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after buying an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,085,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $17,094,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 619.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 866,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 746,376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $17.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.58. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $15.61 and a one year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Company 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.