Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.65 and last traded at $73.41, with a volume of 2461076 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $245.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.80 and a 200-day moving average of $58.62.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFCGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 159,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,114 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 127,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,219,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 64,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,623,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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