Wells Fargo & Company Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 109,589 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 74,152 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 11,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 17,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 206.6% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 17,241 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $5.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.25. 24,447,015 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,846,024. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $253.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.15.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.92.

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.