Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives $77.98 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment 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. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.98.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $81.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.51.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Motco boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st 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. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.