Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Zacks in a research note issued on Thursday. They currently have a $33.00 price target on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Wells Fargo’s first quarter 2012 earnings were slightly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, primarily driven by a higher top line, attributable to solid mortgage banking and market sensitive revenues. It also reported $400 million (pre-tax) reserve release, driven by improved portfolio performance. However, an increase in operating expenses was on the downside. It has come out of the financial crisis well and posted nine consecutive quarters of growth in earnings per share. Going forward, we believe that with a diverse geographic and business mix as well as opportunistic acquisitions, the company is well poised to augment its top line. Its stress test clearance and subsequent dividend hike and plan to increase share buybacks in 2012 also give a fillip to investors’ confidence. Yet, the protracted economic recovery and regulatory issues remain as overhangs. Plus, a low interest rate environment would keep its margins under pressure.”
WFC has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Nomura (NYSE: NMR) reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research note to investors on Wednesday, May 23rd. Separately, analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cut their EPS estimates on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research note on Wednesday. They now have an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, April 17th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
Wells Fargo & Co. traded up 0.98% on Thursday, hitting $32.01. Wells Fargo & Co. has a 52-week low of $22.58 and a 52-week high of $34.59. The company has a market cap of $170.1 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93.
Wells Fargo & Co. last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 13rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Wells Fargo & Co.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Co. will post $0.84 earnings per share next quarter.
Wells Fargo & Company is a bank holding company. The Company is a diversified financial services company.
