The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,013 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.06% of Wendy’s worth $2,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trian Fund Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 33,350,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $680,689,000 after buying an additional 12,618,115 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $413,270,000 after buying an additional 1,162,540 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,270,722 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $107,575,000 after buying an additional 70,832 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,674,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,411,000 after buying an additional 17,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,208,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,492,000 after buying an additional 113,406 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. Stephens started coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.53.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $17.64 and a 52-week high of $23.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.03.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 102.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Profile

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.