UBS Group Cuts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $102.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $104.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WFC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $107.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.50 to $91.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.75.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $80.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $242.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.15.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% during the second quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 16,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.8% in the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 16,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded WFC to Overweight from Equal-Weight, designated it a Top Pick, and set a $102 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly discussing a potential arrangement with Payward, the parent of Kraken, to provide liquidity for digital-asset trading. The deal could support the bank’s cryptocurrency strategy and build on its existing offering of spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth-management clients. Wells Fargo and Payward crypto liquidity talks
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamental coverage remains supportive of Wells Fargo’s dividend and earnings-growth potential, although these views are longer-term in nature and are not immediate trading catalysts.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Payward talks are unconfirmed, and investors may view increased cryptocurrency exposure as strategically promising but also accompanied by regulatory, operational, and market risks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s mobile app now allows customers to personalize eligible debit cards. The feature may improve customer engagement but is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Wells Fargo debit card personalization
• Negative Sentiment: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating Wells Fargo’s programs intended to encourage Black homeownership after officials alleged the initiatives may constitute race-based discrimination. The probe raises potential legal, regulatory, reputational, and compliance costs, making it the primary pressure on the shares. Federal investigation into Wells Fargo lending programs
• Negative Sentiment: UBS issued a pessimistic forecast for WFC, while earnings commentary suggests the bank may lack the strongest combination of estimate revisions and other indicators for a near-term earnings beat. UBS Wells Fargo forecast

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and government entities. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal and commercial loans, mortgages, payment services, and other deposit and credit products.

The company also provides investment banking, capital markets, brokerage, advisory, asset management, and retirement services through its corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management businesses.