Analyzing Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) & Its Competitors

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Wells Fargo & Company to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Wells Fargo & Company and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wells Fargo & Company	$87.23 billion	$21.34 billion	12.15
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	$223.74 billion	$2.42 billion	21.42

Wells Fargo & Company’s competitors have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo & Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Wells Fargo & Company pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company pays out 28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Wells Fargo & Company has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.9% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Wells Fargo & Company and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wells Fargo & Company	17.64%	14.05%	1.04%
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	15.63%	9.41%	0.93%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Wells Fargo & Company and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wells Fargo & Company	0	9	17	0	2.65
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	7494	30253	27860	1490	2.35

Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus target price of $97.50, indicating a potential upside of 13.20%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.44%. Given Wells Fargo & Company’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Wells Fargo & Company has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Risk & Volatility

Wells Fargo & Company has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wells Fargo & Company’s competitors have a beta of 0.61, meaning that their average share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Wells Fargo & Company beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company offering banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, commercial financing, investment services, and financial advice. The company serves consumers, businesses, and institutions, primarily in the United States. Its operations include consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, and corporate and investment banking, as well as wealth and investment management.