R Squared Ltd Invests $274,000 in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,782 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 382,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 29,050 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 195,982 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 9,703 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $805,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $14.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.78. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.98 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.71.

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.