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

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $74.36 and last traded at $74.31, with a volume of 14338138 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 33.26%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Income Research & Management bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.