Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 4,810 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. cut its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,058 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,810 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $11.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.71 and a 200-day moving average of $14.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $11.01 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Profile

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.