Jump Financial LLC Buys Shares of 13,271 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 13,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.69.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $12.78 on Monday. 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 Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $12.05 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.08.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. As a group, analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.