Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.07.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $75.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.81. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $42.52 and a 12 month high of $76.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Income Research & Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.