Centaurus Financial Inc. Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 38,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,143,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 7,368 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 8,714 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.