Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.65 and last traded at $73.41, with a volume of 2461076 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 12.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $245.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.62.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Income Research & Management bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at about $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.