Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 117,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,921,000. Wendy’s comprises about 0.3% of Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Fox Run Management L.L.C. owned about 0.06% of Wendy’s at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.26 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.