Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $90.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $87.00.

WFC has been the topic of several other reports. Phillip Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.15.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $84.64 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.06. 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 has a 12 month low of $54.40 and a 12 month high of $86.65. The company has a market cap of $271.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 30.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.