The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. cut its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,701 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 218,706 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.09% of Wendy’s worth $2,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,358,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,938,000 after purchasing an additional 766,910 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,743,000 after purchasing an additional 458,106 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 7,752.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 190,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after buying an additional 187,612 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 220.5% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 268,531 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 184,749 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Down 5.5 %

WEN opened at $13.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.66. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $13.22 and a twelve month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.52%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEN. 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

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.