Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Sets New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $62.57 and last traded at $62.09, with a volume of 3613041 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.99.

The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.79.

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.