Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares traded up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $75.38 and last traded at $74.72. 1,827,574 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 16,334,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.18.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $242.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $309,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 23,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at about $3,981,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.