Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Purchases 820 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC raised its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 132,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,577,000 after buying an additional 9,013 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,096,163 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,353,000 after buying an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 132,535 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 33,496 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WEN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.53.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $20.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.82. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $17.64 and a 1-year high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The business had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.04%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.