Quantinno Capital Management LP Purchases 187,440 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 170.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 187,440 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.15% of Wendy’s worth $4,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $1,733,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $4,318,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $13,358,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $824,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $1,921,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WEN shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $12.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $11.70 and a 12-month high of $20.60. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $13.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.34.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business 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 earned $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. 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.