Royal Bank of Canada Has $39.11 Million Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,399,675 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 201,853 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $39,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 3,249.7% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,564,000 after buying an additional 1,521,527 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 296.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,690,000 after buying an additional 1,407,503 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,678,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,938,000 after buying an additional 766,910 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,031,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.0%

Wendy’s stock opened at $11.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $11.39 and a twelve month high of $20.60. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $13.12 and a 200-day moving average of $15.16.

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

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.34.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wendy’s 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.