Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Grows Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $258,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Wendy’s by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Wendy’s by 1,653.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 376,978 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,605,000 after purchasing an additional 355,480 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 202.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 253,036 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,433,000 after purchasing an additional 169,407 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,659,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 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.