Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 160,131 The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 160,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WEN. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,314,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $218,149,000 after buying an additional 4,576,075 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,091,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,023 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Wendy’s by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,549,066 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,554,000 after acquiring an additional 357,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Wendy’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,446,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,368,000 after acquiring an additional 102,084 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WEN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $6.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, August 10th. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.76.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $9.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.37. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $6.07 and a 52 week high of $10.62.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 115.31% and a net margin of 5.72%.The firm had revenue of $570.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 84.85%.

Key Stories Impacting Wendy’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Wendy’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wendy’s appointed former McDonald’s executive Tariq Hassan to the newly created role of chief marketing and customer growth officer. The hire is intended to strengthen marketing, improve customer traffic and support the company’s turnaround strategy. The Wendy’s Company Names Tariq Hassan Chief Marketing and Customer Growth Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Management is refocusing on food quality after acknowledging that cost-cutting allowed Wendy’s to lose ground to competitors. Plans to improve menu quality and “get back in the burger fight” could help rebuild brand perception, traffic and same-store sales over time. Wendy’s CEO Says Food Quality Hasn’t Been Chain’s Top Priority—Vows Changes
• Positive Sentiment: A limited-time promotion offering 10 nuggets for $1.99 may drive near-term customer visits and increase trial among value-conscious consumers. Wendy’s Launches $1.99 10-Piece Nuggets Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported short-interest update shows zero shares short both before and after the measurement period, with a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. Because the data also reports an undefined percentage change, it provides no meaningful signal about short-covering or bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The $1.99 nugget offer could pressure restaurant-level margins if it encourages discount-driven sales rather than profitable incremental traffic; the deal also includes eligibility restrictions and is available only for a limited time. Wendy’s Customers Can Now Get 10 Nuggets for $1.99
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks issued a negative outlook for Wendy’s earnings, adding pressure to a stock whose turnaround still depends on improving traffic, food quality and profitability.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.