Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 155,655 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,156% compared to the average volume of 12,392 put options.

Key Stories Impacting Wendy’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Wendy’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Marketing and product promo: Wendy’s relaunched the Thin Mints Frosty (Frosty Fusion and Swirl) for Girl Scout cookie season and is running promotional deals that could help traffic in the near term. These items also drive PR and community engagement through hosting cookie booths. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Customer buzz and promotional lift: multiple reviews and lifestyle pieces highlight the new Frosty offerings and $1 deals, which can boost short‑term traffic and AUVs if executed broadly. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/deep‑value narrative: market commentary notes WEN is trading at depressed multiples and could be a turnaround candidate, but warns turnaround execution is uncertain and short interest is elevated—this frames both upside potential and risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer perception noise: social posts and columns claim a menu item appears smaller — not a material operational issue but potentially harmful to perception if it gains traction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large store closures: Wendy’s announced plans to close roughly 5% of its U.S. footprint (about 250–300 locations) to cut underperforming sites and refocus on value — a near‑term headwind to revenue and a signal management is wrestling with U.S. traffic declines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades / price‑target cuts: BMO trimmed its price target from $11 to $9 and moved to Market Perform; other outlets highlight downgrades and bearish analyst commentary citing weak comps. That reduces near‑term sentiment support. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/strategy headwinds: industry coverage says Wendy’s continues to struggle breaking into breakfast and is losing U.S. market share, reinforcing concerns that core U.S. sales and margins will remain pressured. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sell‑side and short interest pressure: commentary and a Seeking Alpha downgrade highlight slowing fundamentals and elevated short interest—both amplify downside risk until comps and margins stabilize. Read More.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.78. The stock had a trading volume of 10,706,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,033,125. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.38. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $6.74 and a twelve month high of $16.20.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 145.93% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $439.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 65.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 30.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $158,092,000 after buying an additional 3,205,269 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,091,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,023 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,549,066 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,554,000 after purchasing an additional 357,814 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,446,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,368,000 after purchasing an additional 102,084 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 61.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $9.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.41.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.