The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 397,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 157,477 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Wendy's worth $6,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 9.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,952 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC raised its position in Wendy's by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 245,595 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 27,558 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Wendy's during the third quarter valued at approximately $194,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy's during the third quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Wendy's by 72.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 66,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 27,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $17.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,951,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,521,168. The Wendy's Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.64.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy's had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.58%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Wendy's from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Wendy's from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Wendy's from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.