Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 78,430 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 78,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 159.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 5.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $397,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 23.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $18.42 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.44 and a 200 day moving average of $17.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.36.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.