Brokerages Set Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Target Price at $58.99

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.99.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $58.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.87. The company has a market cap of $204.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.18. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 356,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.