Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, reflecting changing sentiment among analysts regarding the stock.
• A mix of ratings were issued recently with ten analysts grading the stock as a "Buy" and seven as a "Hold", indicating ongoing confidence despite the downgrade.
• The company's stock opened at $85.01, with a year-to-date increase reflecting strong earnings and financial metrics such as a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.97.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:WFC opened at $85.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.84 and a 200-day moving average of $75.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $54.40 and a 52 week high of $86.65.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm 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. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 15,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 9.6% during the first quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 6,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

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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