Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading Up 0.1% - Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)'s share price rose 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $64.90 and last traded at $64.62. Approximately 3,388,586 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 17,573,469 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $211.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.53 and a 200-day moving average of $70.98.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Spinnaker Trust boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC grew 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 last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently 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.