Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Down 2.9% - Should You Sell?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) fell 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $70.07 and last traded at $70.17. 3,476,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 16,328,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.97.

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Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.84 and a 200 day moving average of $70.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 2.23%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $467,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is 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.