Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 114,943 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 71% compared to the average volume of 67,389 call options.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded up $1.48 on Friday, reaching $76.38. The company had a trading volume of 10,983,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,502,740. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.48.

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.