Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $62.07 and traded as high as $70.79. Wells Fargo & Company shares last traded at $70.41, with a volume of 8,443,035 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.49.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $233.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.17 and its 200-day moving average is $62.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $4,452,000. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 21.2% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 9,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 99,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 24,126 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 138,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,263.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 75,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,261,000 after buying an additional 69,901 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.