Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 271,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 62,518 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $4,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 2,334.5% during the 4th quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 4,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.84. 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 Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $13.72 and a 52 week high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s 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.