Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Grows Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,614 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,168 shares during the quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.69. 136,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,468,174. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $15.61 and a 52 week high of $20.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.80.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company 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.