Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Here’s Why

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $70.85 and last traded at $71.01. 2,328,261 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,082,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.55.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 7.5 %

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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.43. The company has a market capitalization of $218.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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 business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.