Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading 0.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s stock price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $70.85 and last traded at $71.01. Approximately 2,328,261 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,082,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.97.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,369,000 after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,451,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $1,656,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.