Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE WFC opened at $56.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $38.38 and a 52-week high of $62.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $118,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $737,000. Arden Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Thirteen 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.52.

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.