What Makes The Wendy’s Company (WEN) a Resilient Investment?
Oakmark Funds, advised by Harris Associates, released its “Oakmark Equity and Income Fund” first quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund increased 3.3% in the first quarter compared to a 4.3% return for the Lipper Balanced Fund Index. The fund generated a 9.4% compounded annual rate of return since its inception in 1995 compared to the Index’s return of 6.7%. The equities returned 4.4% in the quarter underperforming the S&P 500 Index which returned 7.5%. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Oakmark Equity and Income Fund highlighted stocks like The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) is a quick-service restaurant operator. On April 12, 2023, The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) stock closed at $21.56 per share. One-month return of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was 3.16%, and its shares gained 3.21% of their value over the last 52 weeks. The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has a market capitalization of $4.572 billion.
Oakmark Equity and Income Fund made the following comment about The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
"The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s is the second-largest quick-service burger chain in the U.S. This iconic brand generates $13.3 billion of systemwide sales from 7,095 restaurant locations around the world. Wendy’s is an asset-light franchisor that earns most of its profits from royalties, franchise fees and rent. The business is insulated from food and labor inflation since 95% of the restaurant base is owned and operated by franchisees. Wendy’s topline has proven remarkably resilient through diverse economic climates, producing 12 straight years of positive same-restaurant sales. The company is well-positioned for accelerating topline growth due to its recent launch of a breakfast menu, steady market share gains, international expansion and new restaurant openings. Despite these favorable characteristics, we had an opportunity to purchase shares at ~17x free cash flow, representing a discount to its quick-service restaurant peers as well as private market transactions."
The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 28 hedge fund portfolios held The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 23 in the previous quarter.
We discussed The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in another article and shared the list of biggest fast-food companies in the world. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
