Barclays PLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 371.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,256 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 199,496 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.12% of Wendy's worth $4,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy's by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Wendy's by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy's by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.58.

Wendy's Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,996,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,249,452. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The Wendy's Company has a 1-year low of $12.05 and a 1-year high of $20.65. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.02.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. On average, analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Wendy's 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.