The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Acquired by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 36.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 19,749 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $11.39 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $10.98 and a one year high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wendy’s Profile

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.