Stevens Capital Management LP Invests $2.32 Million 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 stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $82.68. The stock had a trading volume of 5,740,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,594,568. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.72. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.