The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Position Lowered by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 71.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 43,177 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 16.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $13,358,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 90.8% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 52,225 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.26 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.55%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. 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. Argus upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.