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Wells Fargo (WFC) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

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In the latest market close, Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) reached $57.61, with a +1.64% movement compared to the previous day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.86% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.22%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.51%.

The biggest U.S. mortgage lender's stock has climbed by 3.41% in the past month, exceeding the Finance sector's gain of 3.29% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.84%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Wells Fargo in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on April 12, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.10, signifying a 10.57% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $20.17 billion, reflecting a 2.71% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $4.72 per share and revenue of $80.25 billion, indicating changes of -13.08% and -2.84%, respectively, compared to the previous 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. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% lower. Currently, Wells Fargo is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Wells Fargo is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.01. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 11.19 of its industry.

Meanwhile, WFC's PEG ratio is currently 1.18. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Banks - Major Regional industry stood at 1.64 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 160, this industry ranks in the bottom 37% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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