Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 52.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,865 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $464,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $13,358,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $516,000. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.71.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.82 on Thursday. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $13.98 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.33. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s 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.