Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases Shares of 13,305 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth $1,659,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 555,980 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,741,000 after acquiring an additional 14,889 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 139,425 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 41,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN opened at $14.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.97 and its 200-day moving average is $16.74. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.