353,023 Shares in The Wendy’s Company $WEN Bought by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 353,023 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,927,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Trian Fund Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $252,583,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,314,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $218,149,000 after buying an additional 4,576,075 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 30.1% in the 2nd 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. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,091,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,075,000 after buying an additional 227,023 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 357,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 11th. Argus raised Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.78.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $8.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.00 and its 200-day moving average is $7.48. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $6.07 and a one year high of $10.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 115.31% and a net margin of 5.72%.The business had revenue of $570.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 42.42%.

Wendy’s 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.