Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Announces Earnings Results

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) issued its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $56.47 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $36.40 and a 12-month high of $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,623,044,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,085,410,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267,166 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,478.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,390,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,609,000 after acquiring an additional 7,859,100 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth approximately $345,861,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,640,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,262,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,817 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.37.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.