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Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Moves -1.36%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) closed at $37.65, marking a -1.36% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 3.25% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 2.42%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.49%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender had lost 9.36% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector's loss of 5.02% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.62% in that time.

Wells Fargo will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Wells Fargo to post earnings of $0.90 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 34.78%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $17.87 billion, down 11.83% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.07 per share and revenue of $73.2 billion, which would represent changes of -17.78% and -6.18%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Wells Fargo. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.74% lower. Wells Fargo currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Wells Fargo is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 9.38. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 9.59, so we one might conclude that Wells Fargo is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that WFC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.92. 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. The Banks - Major Regional industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.37 as of yesterday's close.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 186, which puts it in the bottom 27% 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.

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


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