Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Lowered to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday. The brokerage currently has $59.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $62.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI restated an outperform rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $59.63.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $56.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 40.0% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,648,000 after buying an additional 51,234 shares during the period. Core Alternative Capital boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 82.5% in the second quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 11,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 5,154 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $105,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,070,000. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 6,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently 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.