Compass Point Raises Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $60.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price target hoisted by Compass Point from $57.00 to $60.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $64.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $224.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.94. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.58 and a fifty-two week high of $64.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.