Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Wendys Co (NASDAQ:WEN) by 91.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,590 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 299,154 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Wendys were worth $484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Wendys during the 1st quarter worth approximately $163,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Wendys by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendys during the 1st quarter worth approximately $189,000. Bbva Compass Bancshares Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendys during the 1st quarter worth approximately $194,000. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new stake in shares of Wendys in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Wendys from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendys in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Wendys from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wendys from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 5th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.60 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Wendys in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.77.
Shares of WEN stock opened at $17.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.00. Wendys Co has a 1 year low of $13.57 and a 1 year high of $18.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.74.
Wendys (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. Wendys had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business had revenue of $380.56 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts expect that Wendys Co will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 31st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Wendys’s payout ratio is 79.07%.
Wendys declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 21st that permits the company to buyback $175.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, Director Nelson Peltz sold 2,405,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.43, for a total transaction of $39,518,947.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,893,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,549,564.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward P. Garden sold 764,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total transaction of $12,628,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 240,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,973,233.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,894,292 shares of company stock worth $64,045,118 in the last three months. Insiders own 23.10% of the company’s stock.
Wendys Company Profile
The Wendy's Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company. It is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches. The company's restaurants offer a range of chicken breast sandwiches, chicken nuggets, chili, French fries, baked potatoes, salads, soft drinks, desserts, and kids' meals.
