Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $79.84 and last traded at $78.69, with a volume of 905483 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $73.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $269.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spinnaker Trust lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 5,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Republic Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 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.