Franklin Resources Inc. Invests $763,000 in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 39,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,745,202 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $46,559,000 after buying an additional 102,512 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 5.4% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,883 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wendy's in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the 2nd quarter worth $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WEN stock traded down $0.24 on Monday, hitting $16.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,142,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,517,943. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.56. The Wendy's Company has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Wendy's from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wendy's from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.36.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.