Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

WFC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a neutral rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $56.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $201.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.44. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $36.40 and a 52 week high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% during the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 356,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.