Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP has acquired 32,349 shares of Wells Fargo & Company valued at approximately $2.32 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Wells Fargo reported $1.54 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and had revenue of $20.82 billion, slightly below analyst predictions.
• The company approved a $40 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock being undervalued.

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 32,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WFC. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded up $0.38 on Friday, hitting $84.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,071,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,653,194. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day moving average is $77.86 and its 200-day moving average is $74.61. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The company has a market capitalization of $274.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 1.90%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.