Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.57.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFC. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 42,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

WFC opened at $71.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.46. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $46.12 and a one year high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.