Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target Raised to $95.50

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $93.50 to $95.50 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WFC. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE WFC opened at $86.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $261.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.78 and a 200-day moving average of $83.17. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 7,368 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

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.