Teza Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 52,750 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $860,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.7%

WEN stock opened at $12.34 on Tuesday. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $11.70 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.26.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

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.