Cerity Partners LLC Has $4.43 Million Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 202.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 253,036 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,407 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $4,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $18.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.64 and a 200-day moving average of $17.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.