Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has been given a "Moderate Buy" average rating from 18 research firms, with price targets ranging from $83.74 to $98.00 from various analysts.
• The company recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.54, exceeding expectations, while also seeing a slight revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• Wells Fargo raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, representing a 2.2% yield, indicating a positive outlook for investors.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.7353.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $87.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $80.63 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $258.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $56.80 and a 1 year high of $86.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.39.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 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 business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.7% during the second quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 3,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yukon Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the second quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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