Truist Financial Cuts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $94.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective trimmed by Truist Financial from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Argus boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.71.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $76.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $235.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $58.42 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $3,990,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,989,104,000 after buying an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 177.7% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,876,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,455,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120,399 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,638,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,260 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces highlighting Wells Fargo’s dividend and income profile may attract income-focused buyers and support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A STOCK Act disclosure shows Senator Mitch McConnell purchased WFC shares — a public insider/political buy that can be read as a mild positive signal for sentiment, though size/details weren’t provided. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo launched a national housing-affordability challenge (PR/CSR initiative) that can boost reputation and community engagement — positive for franchise value but with limited near-term P&L impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo designated a new series of preferred stock (Series GG). This is a capital-management move — watch terms for yield/call features; immediate impact on common shares is unclear. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage of SoFi at Equal Weight (valuation and loan-sale risk cited); the coverage pressured SoFi shares but is mainly a fintech/coverage item rather than direct WFC fundamentals. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles note that WFC is a trending ticker and coverage by outlets like Zacks — increased attention can raise volume/volatility but is not a directional fundamental catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large unusual options activity: traders bought ~108,090 put contracts (about a 99% increase vs. average). Heavy put buying can signal bearish bets or hedging and tends to raise downside risk/volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Truist lowered its expectations for Wells Fargo’s stock price — a downward analyst revision that can pressure sentiment if followed by other shops. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/sector headwinds: commentary that the Fed held rates and flagged higher inflation has pressured bank stocks broadly, including WFC, as higher inflation expectations can weigh on loan demand and credit outlooks. Read More.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.