Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WFC. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $77.23 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.22. The firm has a market cap of $238.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $58.42 and a 52-week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage of WFC with a buy/strong‑buy stance and a ~$100 price target, providing a near‑term analyst endorsement that can support the stock. Jefferies initiates coverage of Wells Fargo with buy
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo announced digital milestones — Fargo® virtual assistant exceeding 1 billion interactions and the mobile app topping 33 million active users — evidence of fee/data opportunities and customer engagement that investors view as a growth/efficiency tailwind. Wells Fargo Reaches Major Digital Milestones
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo research is active and bullish on large tech themes (e.g., Nvidia data‑center TAM and a bullish take on Alphabet), which signals a healthy research franchise and potential trading/prime brokerage revenue but is indirect for WFC’s own fundamentals. Nvidia Targets $1 Trillion in Data Center Revenue — Wells Fargo Sees 20% Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: For income-oriented investors, comparisons of WFC preferred series (WFC‑D vs WFC‑Y) highlight attractive yields and coverage metrics on certain series — a side-topic that may support buy interest from dividend/preferred buyers even when the common stock is volatile. WFC-D Vs. WFC-Y: Comparing Coupon Extremes
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk from the Iran conflict is keeping markets jittery; strategists note pullbacks in major indices as oil and inflation risks rise — a macro headwind that often pressures bank shares like WFC. Wall Street Says Stocks Are Too Cheap to Ignore as War Rages On
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced price targets on certain enterprise names (e.g., Gartner) citing the Iran conflict’s hit to enterprise spending — an example of analyst downgrades that reflect weak near‑term IT spend and could depress trading/loan pipelines for banks if corporate capex retrenches. Gartner Price Target Lowered to $140 by Wells Fargo

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.