Miller Financial Services LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors raised its stake in Wendy’s by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 26,984 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.47 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

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.