Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,666 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 3.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 203,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 7,180 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 39.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1,562.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,710 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 30,743 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 11.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 101,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 10,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 275.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 110,418 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.21 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.05.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEN. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.73.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.