Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $9.20 Million Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 624,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 273,688 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $9,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WEN. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer directly owned 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This trade represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $11.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $10.91 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.79 and a 200-day moving average of $13.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Wendy’s 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.