Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 155,655 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,156% compared to the typical volume of 12,392 put options.

Key Headlines Impacting Wendy’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Marketing and product promo: Wendy’s relaunched the Thin Mints Frosty (Frosty Fusion and Swirl) for Girl Scout cookie season and is running promotional deals that could help traffic in the near term. These items also drive PR and community engagement through hosting cookie booths. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Customer buzz and promotional lift: multiple reviews and lifestyle pieces highlight the new Frosty offerings and $1 deals, which can boost short?term traffic and AUVs if executed broadly. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/deep?value narrative: market commentary notes WEN is trading at depressed multiples and could be a turnaround candidate, but warns turnaround execution is uncertain and short interest is elevated—this frames both upside potential and risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer perception noise: social posts and columns claim a menu item appears smaller — not a material operational issue but potentially harmful to perception if it gains traction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large store closures: Wendy’s announced plans to close roughly 5% of its U.S. footprint (about 250–300 locations) to cut underperforming sites and refocus on value — a near?term headwind to revenue and a signal management is wrestling with U.S. traffic declines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades / price?target cuts: BMO trimmed its price target from $11 to $9 and moved to Market Perform; other outlets highlight downgrades and bearish analyst commentary citing weak comps. That reduces near?term sentiment support. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/strategy headwinds: industry coverage says Wendy’s continues to struggle breaking into breakfast and is losing U.S. market share, reinforcing concerns that core U.S. sales and margins will remain pressured. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sell?side and short interest pressure: commentary and a Seeking Alpha downgrade highlight slowing fundamentals and elevated short interest—both amplify downside risk until comps and margins stabilize. Read More.

Wendy’s Trading Down 9.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.78. The stock had a trading volume of 10,706,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,033,125. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $6.74 and a 1-year high of $16.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.91.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 145.93%. The company had revenue of $439.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.3%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WEN. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $7.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens cut their price target on Wendy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.41.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,428,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 81.2% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 348,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 156,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $18,929,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $448,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 71.7% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 634,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,810,000 after purchasing an additional 264,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

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.