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

Key Points

• Consensus rating: Twenty-five analysts give Wells Fargo a consensus "Moderate Buy" (14 Buy, 10 Hold, 1 Strong Buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $97.75.
• Quarterly results: WFC reported $1.60 EPS (beat by $0.02) but missed revenue expectations ($21.45B vs. $21.85B); the stock trades at a P/E of 12.26 and a market cap of about $245.2B.
• Dividends and insider activity: The firm pays a $0.45 quarterly dividend (≈2.3% yield) while insiders sold 115,000 shares (~$10.05M) in the past 90 days.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.75.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $99.50 to $91.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $79.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $81.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $68.67 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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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