The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Director Matthew H. Peltz Sells 1,000,000 Shares

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,674,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,952. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $21.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,446,000 after acquiring an additional 70,514 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 31.2% during the second quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 26,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 6,273 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 83.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 438,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,445,000 after acquiring an additional 199,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.28.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.