Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Up 0.5% - Should You Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $70.85 and last traded at $71.01. Approximately 2,328,261 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,082,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.42. The company has a market capitalization of $236.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

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Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.74%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,369,000 after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,115,000 after buying an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,451,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $1,656,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.