North Star Investment Management Corp. Sells 101,769 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its holdings in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 36.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,915 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 101,769 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned about 0.09% of Wendy's worth $3,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $115,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Wendy's in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,085,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy's by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $397,469,000 after buying an additional 1,273,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 2nd quarter worth $17,094,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Wendy's stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,750,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,196. The Wendy's Company has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.08 and a two-hundred day 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.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Wendy's from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.36.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of Wendy'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 transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at $256,728,745.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy's Company 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.