Bank of Montreal Can Trims Stake in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,007 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 33,880 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Wendy's were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Wendy's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy's by 46.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wendy's by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.69.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.86. 714,988 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,236,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The Wendy's Company has a 1 year low of $12.05 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $14.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 105.26%.

About Wendy's

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.