Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $83.00 to $90.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lowered their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded up $1.48 on Wednesday, hitting $76.38. The company had a trading volume of 10,617,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,236,744. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $248.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company 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%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Motco grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.