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Wells Fargo (WFC) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) closed at $45.35, marking a -1.71% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.29% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.86%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.46%.

Heading into today, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender had gained 6.61% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's gain of 11.45% and the S&P 500's gain of 11.99% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Wells Fargo as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.11, down 5.13% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $18.71 billion, down 0.67% from the prior-year quarter.

WFC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4 per share and revenue of $72.91 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -19.19% and -6.55%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Wells Fargo should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Wells Fargo is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Wells Fargo has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.55 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 10.8, so we one might conclude that Wells Fargo is trading at a premium comparatively.

It is also worth noting that WFC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.13. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Banks - Major Regional stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.39 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, putting it in the top 35% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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