Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.91.

WFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, July 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $52.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $181.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.