Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Wells Fargo (WFC) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) closed at $44.12, marking a +1.92% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.95%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.04%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender had lost 2.89% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Finance sector's loss of 6.49% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.49% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Wells Fargo as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, Wells Fargo is projected to report earnings of $0.93 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 32.61%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $17.89 billion, down 11.74% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.14 per share and revenue of $73.39 billion. These totals would mark changes of -16.36% and -5.94%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Wells Fargo. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.46% higher within the past month. Wells Fargo is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Wells Fargo is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.46. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.46, which means Wells Fargo is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.

Investors should also note that WFC has a PEG ratio of 1.02 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Banks - Major Regional industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.53 as of yesterday's close.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, putting it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow WFC in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) - free report >>

Published in