Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Up 3% - Should You Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)'s share price shot up 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.42 and last traded at $64.97. 5,569,532 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 17,593,024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $71.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.05. 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 cap of $211.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $493,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

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.