PFG Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

PFG Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,109 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $8,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 7,368 shares during the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $88.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $85.73 and a 200-day moving average of $83.10. The stock has a market cap of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo declared quarterly cash dividends on six series of preferred stock. The announcement provides clarity for income-focused investors and signals that the bank continues to support its preferred-capital structure. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis suggests WFC could be about 10% undervalued despite strong gains over the past three months, supporting the view that valuation may still leave room for additional appreciation. Wells Fargo Could Be 10% Undervalued After Preferred Dividend Declaration
• Positive Sentiment: Investors have been rotating from weaker-performing artificial-intelligence stocks into financials, creating a favorable sector backdrop for Wells Fargo and other banks. Risk-On Momentum in Bank Stocks Echoes Aftermath of Dot-Com Bust
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s latest earnings exceeded expectations, with $1.96 in earnings per share and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 8.6% year over year. Analysts continue to focus on potential net-interest-income growth, asset-cap removal and increased capital returns. WFC Stock Gains 20.5% in 3 Months: Buy, Hold or Sell the Stock Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is expanding its post-asset-cap strategy through tokenized deposits for corporate clients and new long-term debt and depositary-share offerings. The initiatives could improve payment capabilities and investment capacity, but their financial impact remains uncertain. Is Wells Fargo’s Tokenized Deposit Push Reshaping Its Post-Cap Investment Story?
• Negative Sentiment: After a roughly 20% three-month advance, valuation and profit-taking risks could limit near-term upside, making investors more sensitive to execution on growth and regulatory milestones. Why Is Wells Fargo Up Since Last Earnings Report?

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.