Abigail E. Pringle Sells 136,819 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $11.77 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $11.70 and a 1-year high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

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.