UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $69.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.49.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $71.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average is $60.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $238.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $45.81 and a 12-month high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Income Research & Management bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.