The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2,759.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,578 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 116,361 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Wendy’s worth $1,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Wendy’s by 16.9% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,461,000 after acquiring an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth about $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,358,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted 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 worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 52,225 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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 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.