Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,155,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $95,522,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.