Simon Quick Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 21,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,733,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 220.5% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 268,531 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after acquiring an additional 184,749 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Wendy’s by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,597 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Finally, Prasad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $645,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WEN. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $11.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. 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 $10.98 and a twelve month high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 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.