Investors Purchase High Volume of Wendy’s Put Options (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 20,439 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 411% compared to the typical volume of 4,002 put options.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 279,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,548,000 after purchasing an additional 128,579 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $3,723,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $171,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WEN. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Down 3.5 %

WEN stock opened at $14.55 on Wednesday. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.80.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.87%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.