Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Sells 596 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,854 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 596 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter worth $43,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $23.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.47.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $19.82 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $17.64 and a 1 year high of $23.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.04%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.