Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases New Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 555,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $45,901,000. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 1.8% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $85.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.68. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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