Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Upgraded by HSBC to “Buy” Rating

HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $94.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

WFC has been the topic of several other reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.13.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WFC opened at $80.62 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $58.42 and a twelve month high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.21.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Hilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,656,000. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded WFC from “hold” to “buy” with a $94 price target, creating fresh buy-side momentum and an implied upside to current levels. HSBC Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Broker consensus remains constructive — WFC reportedly has an average rating around “Moderate Buy,” which supports continued investor interest in the shares. Brokerage Consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary from Wells Fargo’s CEO argues Main Street economic indicators are resilient despite geopolitical noise, which can reassure investors that the bank’s underlying fundamentals may hold up. CEO Comments
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market pieces are flagging WFC’s upcoming quarterly report as a near-term catalyst — expectations and the question of whether WFC will beat consensus will likely drive short-term moves. Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $100 and set an “equal weight” rating, which can cap upside and introduces some conflicting analyst views into the tape. Morgan Stanley Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s own equity research cut the 2026 S&P 500 target (to 7,300) citing the U.S.-Iran war and weaker tax receipts — a more cautious macro outlook that increases downside risk for bank shares if geopolitical/headline risk persists. S&P 500 Forecast Cut

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.