International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 30,743 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 1,562.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,710 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 30,743 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Wendy's were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Wendy's in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Wendy's by 483.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.39. 4,179,897 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,522,286. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.71. 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 Wendy's Company has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Wendy's's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WEN. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy's

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

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.