Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of 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 target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $60.41.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $56.96 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $38.58 and a 52-week high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 5,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 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.