The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,890,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 14,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 9.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.2 %

WEN stock opened at $15.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $13.72 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.97 and a 200 day moving average of $16.85.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.54%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.