The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Position Lifted by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 36.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,749 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $1,733,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $4,318,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,072 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 3,522 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $824,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $1,921,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WEN shares. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $11.39 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $10.98 and a 12 month high of $20.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $12.23 and its 200-day moving average is $14.48.

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

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

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.