Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Upgraded to “Accumulate” at Phillip Securities

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was upgraded by Phillip Securities from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $65.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $60.83. Phillip Securities’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.51% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.02.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.0 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.41. The stock had a trading volume of 8,604,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,001,020. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.58 and a one year high of $63.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.82. The company has a market capitalization of $221.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,035,000 after purchasing an additional 48,419 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.