WINTON GROUP Ltd Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,503 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,844,000 after buying an additional 3,959,480 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $102,743,000 after acquiring an additional 458,106 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,887,000 after acquiring an additional 37,801 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,287,000 after purchasing an additional 115,875 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 93.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 6.84%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s 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.