Balefire LLC Buys New Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Balefire LLC has acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company, purchasing 3,676 shares valued at approximately $295,000 in the second quarter.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a dividend yield of 2.2%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Wells Fargo, with ten recommending a "buy" and seven giving a "hold," alongside a price target averaging $82.56.

Balefire LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $29,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $83.51 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $53.31 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The stock has a market cap of $267.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.40 and its 200-day moving average is $75.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.

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