Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Competitors

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, community ranking, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, USB or WFC?

U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wells Fargo & Company has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in USB or WFC?

77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor USB or WFC?

Wells Fargo & Company received 765 more outperform votes than U.S. Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.40% of users gave Wells Fargo & Company an outperform vote while only 57.49% of users gave U.S. Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
U.S. Bancorp	Outperform Votes 775 57.49%	Underperform Votes 573 42.51%
Wells Fargo & Company	Outperform Votes 1540 62.40%	Underperform Votes 928 37.60%

Is USB or WFC a better dividend stock?

U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Wells Fargo & Company pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. U.S. Bancorp pays out 61.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Wells Fargo & Company pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. U.S. Bancorp has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. U.S. Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is USB or WFC more profitable?

Wells Fargo & Company has a net margin of 14.43% compared to U.S. Bancorp's net margin of 12.92%. U.S. Bancorp's return on equity of 12.91% beat Wells Fargo & Company's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Bancorp	12.92%	12.91%	0.96%
Wells Fargo & Company	14.43%	12.25%	1.04%

Does the media favor USB or WFC?

In the previous week, Wells Fargo & Company had 26 more articles in the media than U.S. Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 54 mentions for Wells Fargo & Company and 28 mentions for U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Wells Fargo & Company's score of 1.16 indicating that U.S. Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
U.S. Bancorp	22 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Wells Fargo & Company	40 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer USB or WFC?

U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $51.22, suggesting a potential downside of 1.15%. Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus target price of $63.07, suggesting a potential downside of 16.82%. Given U.S. Bancorp's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than Wells Fargo & Company.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Wells Fargo & Company	0 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.48

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, USB or WFC?

Wells Fargo & Company has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Bancorp. Wells Fargo & Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U.S. Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Bancorp	$40.62B	1.99	$5.43B	$3.27	15.85
Wells Fargo & Company	$115.34B	2.19	$19.14B	$4.81	15.76

Summary

Wells Fargo & Company beats U.S. Bancorp on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.