Trexquant Investment LP Acquires New Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,023,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $16,678,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.50% of Wendy’s at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. UBS Group upped 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. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.6 %

WEN stock opened at $14.72 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average is $16.72.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.79%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.