AQR Capital Management LLC Has $169.86 Million Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,421,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 699,024 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 5.11% of Wendy’s worth $169,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.2 %

WEN stock opened at $12.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.28 and a 200 day moving average of $16.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $12.05 and a 52 week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.58.

Wendy’s Company 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.