Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Wells Fargo from a "hold" to a "sell," even as the broader analyst community remains mostly constructive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price around $97.53.
• Wells Fargo’s latest earnings beat expectations on EPS, reporting $1.60 per share versus the $1.58 estimate, though revenue came in well below forecasts at $11.62 billion versus $21.85 billion expected.
• The stock was trading near $82.06, below its 200-day moving average, while institutional ownership remained high at 75.9% and recent hedge fund activity included several large stake increases.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WFC. HSBC upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE WFC opened at $82.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $251.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its 200-day moving average is $84.70. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $71.93 and a one year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,487,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,484 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,975,600,000 after acquiring an additional 188,186 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,922,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,260 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,310,663,000 after acquiring an additional 6,944,316 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Wells Fargo after management offered a strong outlook, with coverage showing a majority Buy rating and implied upside to the shares. Street Bullish on Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) After CEO Offered Strong Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is also part of a planned shared tokenized deposit network led by The Clearing House, suggesting the bank is positioning itself for faster, blockchain-based payments and a new growth avenue. Big Banks Launch Tokenized Deposit Network to Fight Off Stablecoin Threat
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting that Wells Fargo is a trending stock points to heightened investor attention, but it does not add new fundamentals by itself. Is Trending Stock Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s role in the tokenized-deposit network was reiterated in separate reports, reinforcing the strategic theme rather than signaling an immediate financial impact. Tokenized Deposits Set Up Banking’s Next Network Race

Wells Fargo & Company 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.

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