Point72 Asset Management L.P. Takes $42.09 Million Position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,481,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $42,085,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 1.22% of Wendy's as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 201.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 176,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 117,990 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 767.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 107,021 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 94,682 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 619.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 866,878 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $14,711,000 after acquiring an additional 746,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wendy's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.50 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Wendy's from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.24.

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 on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $17.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,654,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,446,011. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $17.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. 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 2.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy's had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $577.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Wendy's's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 101.01%.

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.