The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by Transcendent Capital Group LLC

Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2,334.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,669 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $79,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Up 4.8 %

WEN stock opened at $15.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $13.72 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WEN. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.73.

About Wendy’s

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.