The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 608,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,720 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.30% of Wendy’s worth $10,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 40,985 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $16.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.89. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.92%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Wendy’s

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.