Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.0263.

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Convergence Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.0% during the second quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 3,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 273,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,937,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 188,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,118,000 after buying an additional 9,956 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.7% in the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,099,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,981,000 after buying an additional 48,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fed ends the 2018 enforcement order, removing a decade‑long regulatory constraint and reputational overhang that had limited management flexibility on capital returns and growth initiatives — a material structural positive for WFC going forward. Wells Fargo shakes off last Fed consent order Wells Fargo fully sheds Fed’s 2018 enforcement order
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets confirm the termination (MSN, Seeking Alpha, TMCNet), providing wide coverage but little immediate financial detail; this is a catalytic governance/regulatory development whose full capital‑allocation benefits will show up over quarters. Seeking Alpha: Fed board ends 2018 enforcement action
• Negative Sentiment: Shares slipped amid a broader market selloff tied to escalating conflict in the Middle East and higher mortgage rates (which can hurt mortgage origination volumes and bank trading sentiment); that risk‑off tone is the main reason WFC moved lower today despite the regulatory win. Yahoo Finance Market Minute: Mortgage rates tick up, Fed lifts 2018 enforcement on Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Political and crypto‑industry headlines calling out banks (social media/pundit commentary) create noise that can exacerbate short‑term sentiment swings, though they are unlikely to change fundamentals. Eric Trump attacks banks over stablecoin yields

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $82.07 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.51.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.