Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 1,072.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 237,979 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 217,688 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.12% of Wendy's worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Wendy's by 16.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,461,000 after purchasing an additional 102,769 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at about $357,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,318,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Wendy's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,358,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given 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 $17.97.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,622,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,232,530. 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 Wendy's Company has a 1 year low of $12.05 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.31.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

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.