Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Wells Fargo a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Of 26 analysts, 14 rate the stock a buy, 10 recommend holding, and two assign a strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $98.61.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly EPS of $1.96, exceeding the $1.73 consensus estimate, while revenue of $22.62 billion also topped expectations and increased 8.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of approximately 2.3%; institutional investors own 75.9% of the stock.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.6053.

Several analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. KGI Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $86.60 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $261.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,610,000 after buying an additional 84,902 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,673,000 after buying an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,446,000 after buying an additional 17,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Finally, Winning Points Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

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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