Atria Investments Inc Grows Stock Position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,442 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 41,586 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Wendy's were worth $1,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $397,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,140 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Wendy's by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Wendy's by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $69,446,000 after acquiring an additional 70,514 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $59,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy's by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,356 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy's Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,537,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,529,574. The Wendy's Company has a one year low of $15.61 and a one year high of $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.49 and a 200 day moving average of $17.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Wendy's from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wendy's from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.36.

Wendy's Profile

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.