Comparing Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) & The Competition

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Wells Fargo & Company to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Wells Fargo & Company and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wells Fargo & Company	$87.23 billion	$21.34 billion	12.15
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	$223.74 billion	$2.42 billion	21.42

Wells Fargo & Company’s rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo & Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.9% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Wells Fargo & Company has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wells Fargo & Company’s rivals have a beta of 0.61, suggesting that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Wells Fargo & Company and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wells Fargo & Company	17.64%	14.05%	1.04%
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	15.63%	9.41%	0.93%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wells Fargo & Company	0	9	17	0	2.65
Wells Fargo & Company Competitors	7494	30253	27860	1490	2.35

Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus price target of $97.50, indicating a potential upside of 13.20%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.44%. Given Wells Fargo & Company’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Wells Fargo & Company has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Dividends

Wells Fargo & Company pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company pays out 28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Wells Fargo & Company has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

Wells Fargo & Company beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company offering banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, commercial financing, investment services, and financial advice. The company serves consumers, businesses, and institutions, primarily in the United States. Its operations include consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, and corporate and investment banking, as well as wealth and investment management.