Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $94.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. KGI Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment 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, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.50.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $87.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.77. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $267.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results, with adjusted EPS of $1.96 topping Wall Street’s $1.72 estimate, driven by higher fee income, investment banking activity and net interest income. Wells Fargo CEO Says America Is Still Spending Big—Even With Inflation Concerns
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about its earnings outlook and adding another bullish signal for investors. Wells Fargo (WFC) Upgraded to Buy: Here’s What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive after the bank’s earnings beat, with industry commentary highlighting strong Q2 performance across major banks including Wells Fargo. Revving Up Returns: Big Banks Race Through the Rate Plateau (WFC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also appeared in commentary noting that big bank earnings beat estimates, but some of the profit strength came from lower loan-loss reserves, which may be less repeatable going forward. Revving Up Returns: Big Banks Race Through the Rate Plateau (WFC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s housing-market index showed weaker homebuilder confidence in July, a modest macroeconomic headwind for the bank’s mortgage-related business. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Deteriorates In July

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.