Wells Fargo (WFC) closed at $86.33 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.08% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.25%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.39%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.59%.
Heading into today, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender had lost 2.18% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's gain of 1.61% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.23%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Wells Fargo in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.66, reflecting a 16.9% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $21.5 billion, indicating a 5.49% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $6.28 per share and a revenue of $84.01 billion, indicating changes of +16.95% and +2.09%, respectively, from the former year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Wells Fargo. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term 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 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Currently, Wells Fargo is carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Wells Fargo is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.6. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 16.59.
It is also worth noting that WFC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.87. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Financial - Investment Bank industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.08 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Financial - Investment Bank industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 26, finds itself in the top 11% echelons of all 250+ industries.
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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Wells Fargo & Company (WFC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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