Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Up 3% – Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was up 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.42 and last traded at $64.97. Approximately 5,569,532 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 17,593,024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.88.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $211.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.49 and a 200 day moving average of $71.02.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 53,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $281,000. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 6,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 23.1% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 21,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.