Claro Advisors LLC Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 22,501 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,085,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $18.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $15.61 and a 52 week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.54%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

About Wendy’s

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.