I’m Buying Wendy’s Again — And Nelson Peltz Is the Secret Sauce

The last time that I owned shares of Wendy's  (WEN)  in the Sarge-folio, I remember buying the shares with a $20 handle and making a profit on the position. That was a long time ago. 

The stock has not traded above $20 per share since November 2024 and has not traded above $10 a share since November 2025. I think I remember selling those shares at an average in the $23's. That takes us back to at least May 2023.

What the heck has happened to this stock? To this company? 

I own Wendy's again in the Sarge-folio for the first time in a long time. I probably would have bought some for the $10,000 Portfolio except I did not want to sell anything to create the room. 

Why buy Wendy's at these levels? I have told my readers many times.

I am a Nelson Peltz fan. It's that simple. Actually, I am a fan of activist investment in general. The concept has been a regular winner for me over the years. 

Not that it will be easy or quick, but when someone like Nelson Peltz or his shop over at Trian Fund Management finds a stock that they think is not living up to its potential from a mostly fundamental perspective, they tend to be right.

Today's News

In a February 17 amended 13D filing, Trian disclosed beneficial ownership of roughly 31 million shares of Wendy's for a stake of more than 16% of the company. In the filing, Trian states a belief that Wendy's shares are undervalued and that the activist investor was actively reviewing options to include potential acquisitions, extraordinary transactions, and control scenarios. At the time, Trian made clear that there was no assurance that any proposal would ultimately be made.

This morning, there was news. The Financial Times reported that Trian is looking to firm up a consortium of investors to get together and possibly take Wendy's private. Trian, according to the report, has held discussions with outside investors, globally, about financing a potential takeover deal. No formal offer has been made as of yet.

Wendy's entered the day with a market cap of about $1.3 billion. For the first quarter, Wendy's suffered a 5.5% year-over-year decrease in total sales and a 7.8% year-over-year decrease in U.S. same-store sales.

Come to think of it, I have always liked Wendy's relative to its fast-food hamburger chain competitors, and I cannot remember the last time that I patronized a Wendy's location. 

Is that because I am older and more health-conscious? Maybe, but I can remember the last time I ate at McDonald's  (MCD)  food. It's not a burger chain, but I ate Taco Bell food last night (first time/long time). Not kidding.... also, not Wendy's.

Other News

Wendy's reported that quarter on Friday. Expectations were met and beaten, but those were soft expectations. 

Bank of America reiterated a "sell" rating on the shares. A new analyst at JP Morgan was assigned WEN on Monday and promptly downgraded the name to a "sell" while taking its price target down to $6 from $7.

The Chart​

Readers will see a Falling Wedge pattern of bullish reversal that WEN is trying to break out from. ​Relative Strength is improved. The daily MACD is looking better. 

I see this as a low-risk investment. If nothing comes of the Trian story, I'll walk away, but they have a large position. I find it difficult to believe that they'll walk away. 

My pivot is the 200-day simple moving average at $8.40. My price target is $10.

Related: Time to Ring the Register on TJX as Retail Stocks Get Rocked?

At the time of publication, Guilfoyle was long WEN equity.