Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $85.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company traded as high as $82.40 and last traded at $82.37, with a volume of 15187015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.49.

WFC has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.33.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Motco grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $271.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.07 and a 200 day moving average of $73.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.