Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Has $14.85 Million Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 847,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 154,316 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $14,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 21.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 46,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $18.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

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.