Azora Capital LP Buys New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 648,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $45,581,000. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 2.1% of Azora Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 28,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $383,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $519,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $73.48. The stock had a trading volume of 18,047,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,547,347. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & 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.