Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) rose 1.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.29 and last traded at $65.08. Approximately 5,130,395 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 17,563,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $214.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results 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 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.