Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Up 1.6% Following Earnings Beat

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) traded up 1.6% during trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $63.95 and last traded at $63.51. 6,728,355 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 17,556,692 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.51.

The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America decreased 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, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.97.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,369,000 after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $207.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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.