Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 782,621 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 64,895 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $12,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $1,034,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 62.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,726 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 13,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at $258,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEN. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $15.35 on Monday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.