Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.9750.

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,989,104,000 after buying an additional 5,584,930 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 177.7% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,876,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,455,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120,399 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,638,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $58.42 and a 1-year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results 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 $21.29 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.