Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.97 and last traded at $65.87, with a volume of 1442011 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $222.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company 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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 473,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,441,000 after buying an additional 106,260 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 11,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 154.2% in the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 263,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,298,000 after purchasing an additional 6,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $1,893,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.