M&T Bank Corp Sells 1,375 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,514 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,375 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $15.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average is $16.88. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Equities analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WEN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

About Wendy’s

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.