Short Interest in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Expands By 46,625.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in Wells Fargo saw a dramatic increase of 46,625.5% in July, totaling 34.39 million shares, with 1.1% of the company's shares currently short sold.
• Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Wells Fargo from $77.00 to $87.00, while the company's average rating stands at "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $80.39.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield, supported by a strong payout ratio of 27.4%.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 34,390,000 shares, agrowthof46,625.5% from the June 30th total of 73,600 shares. Currently,1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 17,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently,1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WFC. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Motco raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $2.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,030,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,559,369. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $253.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

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

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.

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