Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 1,116,979 Shares of The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 6,474.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,134,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,116,979 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $12,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 13,618 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 5.6% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 19,697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,641 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.86.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $8.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.50. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $8.39 and a 52 week high of $18.78. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The firm had revenue of $442.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Wendy’s’s 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.