Continuum Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Continuum Advisory LLC cut its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 3,249.7% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521,527 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 296.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $16,678,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,938,000 after buying an additional 766,910 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $8,031,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $11.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.10. 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 twelve month low of $11.24 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

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.