Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.9211.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WFC. Freedom Capital cut Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $93.93 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $58.42 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.69. The company has a market cap of $294.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $11.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.