Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Short Interest Update

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 33,658,519 shares, a decline of 12.3% from the December 31st total of 38,360,053 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,671,189 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 16,671,189 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,635,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,851,000 after purchasing an additional 5,894,747 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $215,638,000. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,487,000 after buying an additional 2,245,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $93.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.52. The stock has a market cap of $292.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The firm had revenue of $11.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Capital lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.92.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.