SFE Investment Counsel Buys New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 180.4% in the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $54.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.31 and a 200 day moving average of $57.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $188.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

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.