JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut Wells Fargo’s price target from $95.50 to $91.50 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 14% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Wells Fargo has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $99.69, supported by several recent target increases and new “buy” ratings.
• Wells Fargo exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.96 in earnings per share versus the $1.73 consensus and $22.62 billion in revenue versus $21.86 billion expected; institutional investors own 75.9% of the company.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $95.50 to $91.50 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.01% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. HSBC started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.69.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.26. 3,154,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,978,388. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The firm has a market cap of $242.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,484 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,369,260 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,364,923,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,310,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,944,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and government entities. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal and commercial loans, mortgages, payment services, and other deposit and credit products.

The company also provides investment banking, capital markets, brokerage, advisory, asset management, and retirement services through its corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management businesses.

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