Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $78.36 and last traded at $78.07, with a volume of 77232 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $258.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.10.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after buying an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $160,529,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,709,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,716 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 410.8% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,374,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.