Short Interest in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Increases By 16.1%

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,890,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 14,550,000 shares. Currently, 9.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 279,041 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,548,000 after acquiring an additional 128,579 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth about $184,000. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,253 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,723,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Wendy's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Wendy's from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.08.

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Wendy's Stock Down 1.1 %

Wendy's stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.26. The stock had a trading volume of 5,919,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,956,919. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy's has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.83.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, analysts predict that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

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.