The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,890,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 14,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 9.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.0 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $15.43 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.84. 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 expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company 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.