Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) traded up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $71.80 and last traded at $71.88. 1,700,587 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 17,069,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. 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 Stock Down 7.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid 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 dividend yield of 2.39%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.