Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 63,883 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 255.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,883 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.93.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business 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%. Research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.