Qsemble Capital Management LP Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 55,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEN. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,571,000 after buying an additional 68,356 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 62,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN stock opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.60. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.