Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 8,474,453 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 12,725,662 shares.The stock last traded at $75.05 and had previously closed at $71.19.

The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.92.

Read Our Latest Research Report on WFC

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,183,000 after acquiring an additional 162,066 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,284,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,983,000 after acquiring an additional 575,892 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,237,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 5.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $249.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.41 and a 200 day moving average of $63.15.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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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.

Further Reading

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