Wendy’s Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 11,458 put options on the company. This is an increase of 73% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,613 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.53.

Wendy’s Stock Down 4.9 %

WEN stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,012,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,258,083. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. Wendy’s has a one year low of $11.87 and a one year high of $20.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3,249.7% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,527 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 296.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,690,000 after buying an additional 1,407,503 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,678,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $13,358,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,938,000 after acquiring an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.