Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Up 1% on Analyst Upgrade

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $80.00 and last traded at $79.92. 2,182,058 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 17,101,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.10.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $256.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.69 and its 200-day moving average is $74.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.