Wendy’s Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 30,928 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,416% compared to the average daily volume of 2,040 put options.

Insider Activity

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 483.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of WEN opened at $19.11 on Friday. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WEN shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.22.

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.