Wells Fargo & Company Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 82,427 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 30% compared to the typical daily volume of 63,479 call options.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded up $3.30 on Friday, reaching $61.05. The company had a trading volume of 17,613,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,885,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $38.58 and a 52-week high of $62.55. The company has a market cap of $212.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.75.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WFC. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $1,118,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 31.7% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 161,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,819 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after acquiring an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 58,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.