Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $81.58.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing a 2.3% annual yield.
• Wells Fargo's stock is currently trading at $77.09, down 2.9%, with a market capitalization of $246.95 billion.

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.5833.

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:WFC opened at $77.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares during the period. Allianz SE increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 22.6% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 212,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,244,000 after buying an additional 39,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,783,000 after buying an additional 70,104 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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