Sivia Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Wendy’s by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Wendy’s by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 123,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,039,000 after acquiring an additional 22,250 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 84,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim cut Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $11.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $10.98 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Company 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.