Savant Capital LLC Lowers Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Savant Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,303 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 72,623 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Wendy’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,865 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 3.8 %

WEN opened at $14.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.13.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.43.

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.