The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Short Interest Update

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,590,000 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 16,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WEN. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment 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, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 0.6% during 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $14.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. Wendy’s has a one year low of $13.72 and a one year high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.