Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s stock price shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $75.38 and last traded at $74.72. 1,827,574 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 16,334,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Compass Point raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.18.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.2 %

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.80. The stock has a market cap of $230.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

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.