Short Interest in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Rises By 53.3%

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,550,000 shares, a growth of 53.3% from the January 31st total of 9,490,000 shares. Currently, 8.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Wendy's from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.34.

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Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.16. The stock had a trading volume of 5,875,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,861,954. Wendy's has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy's by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Wendy's by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid's meals.