Oak Thistle LLC Takes $516,000 Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 31,674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 39.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WEN shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.99.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.9 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $14.85 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $14.73 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.46.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

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.