The Wendy’s Co Completes Sale of 104 U.S. Restaurants (WEN)

After the closing bell on Monday, The Wendy’s Company (WEN) announced that it had completed its “System Optimization” initiative, which involved selling 104 of its restaurants to franchisees.

Wendy’s has been attempting to create a more predictable revenue stream by selling 418 company-run restaurants in 13 U.S. markets. Since 2013, Wendy’s has seen $235 million in income from these sales. Through the company’s “System Optimization” initiative, it expects to have a higher operating margin and stronger free cash flow; the company also expects these latest moves to bring a higher quality to its earnings.

Wendy’s president and CEO, Emil Brolick, had the following comments about the company’s latest moves: ”We are proud of our team that has diligently worked to complete the sale – faster than our original plan — of the 13 total markets to excellent franchise organizations that are fully committed to building the Wendy’s brand through restaurant reimaging, new development and other growth initiatives. This is an important step for the future of our business …”

WEN stock finished the day down 17 cents, or 1.85%, but the stock was slightly higher in after hours trading. YTD, the company’s stock is up 4.44%.

WEN Dividend Snapshot

As of Market Close, March 24 2014

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