South Plains Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 4,038 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $71.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $234.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.74. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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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