Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Sees Large Volume Increase on Strong Earnings

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 8,474,453 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 12,725,662 shares.The stock last traded at $75.05 and had previously closed at $71.19.

The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WFC. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $225,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 23.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,233,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,282,000 after purchasing an additional 237,400 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $272,000. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 5.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $249.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.15.

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.