ING Groep NV Takes $1.03 Million Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 59,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 483.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the first quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WEN. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $18.12 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.