Royal Bank of Canada Upgrades Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to Outperform

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $80.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $70.96 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.