Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 5,251 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 424.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,488 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,251 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the third quarter worth $49,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 2,334.5% in the fourth quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 4,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEN shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.35 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $13.72 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average of $16.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.