Short Interest in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Decreases By 19.5%

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,590,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 16,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 7.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of WEN opened at $14.63 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $112,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,480 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Wendy’s by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,743,000 after purchasing an additional 458,106 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,887,000 after purchasing an additional 37,801 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,747,000 after purchasing an additional 43,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,081,000 after buying an additional 90,380 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.