First Bancorp Inc ME Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $85.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The firm has a market cap of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.68.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WFC. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

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.