Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.39.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $78.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $47.45 and a 12-month high of $78.98.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobsen Capital Management raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 5,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. New Republic Capital LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 52,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.