1,871 Shares in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Bought by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,871 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,461,000 after buying an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $13,358,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 52,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $15.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WEN. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

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.