Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 464,444 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $99,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,577,359 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,707,000 after buying an additional 142,500 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 22.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 200,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 36,954 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the first quarter valued at $1,084,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the first quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 84,261.8% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,726,000 after buying an additional 595,731 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEN. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.87.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the purchase, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ WEN opened at $10.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $9.74 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.31.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $560.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.95 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

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.