In the latest trading session, Wells Fargo (WFC) closed at $48.91, marking no change from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 0.09% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.26%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.25%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender had gained 5.02% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector’s gain of 8.9% and the S&P 500’s gain of 7.92% in that time.
WFC will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 12, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.09, down 2.68% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $20.88 billion, down 4.79% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.97 per share and revenue of $85.09 billion, which would represent changes of +16.12% and -1.52%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for WFC 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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 has moved 3.19% lower. WFC currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note WFC’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 9.84. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 10.39.
It is also worth noting that WFC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.88. 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 1.23 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Banks – Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 181, which puts it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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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