Wells Fargo stock rating reiterated at Overweight by Piper Sandler

Investing.com - Piper Sandler has reiterated its Overweight rating and $87.00 price target on Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) stock, citing long-term growth opportunities and strong underwriting practices. The banking giant, currently valued at $260.82 billion, has demonstrated strong momentum with a 41.6% return over the past year.

The research firm highlighted that Wells Fargo’s consumer customers remain resilient, particularly in higher-end cohorts, according to insights shared during a recent group meeting between institutional investors and Wells Fargo’s SEVP & CEO of Consumer Lending.

Credit card operations represent the largest long-term potential growth area for Wells Fargo as the bank leverages its extensive franchise scale to gain market share in this focus segment, Piper Sandler noted.

The auto lending business is reportedly turning a corner and returning to growth mode, while Home Lending remains less emphasized and more targeted compared to Wells Fargo’s historical approach, with its ongoing rationalization masking better underlying growth overall.

Piper Sandler emphasized that Wells Fargo has created numerous long-term value-generating growth levers within the context of an enhanced risk profile.

In other recent news, Wells Fargo announced the establishment of a Medium-Term Note Program, Series Y, and a Subordinated Medium-Term Note Program, Series Z. The company has filed the distribution agreement related to these programs with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, Wells Fargo is involved in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Early Warning Services, LLC, the operator of Zelle, for allegedly failing to protect users from fraud amounting to over $1 billion. Wells Fargo, along with other major banks, owns EWS, which is accused of designing Zelle without essential safety features.

Furthermore, Wells Fargo has reported that U.S. investment-grade bond issuance reached $40.4 billion last week, marking the highest weekly volume in three months. In another development, Christopher Harvey, head of equity strategy for Wells Fargo Securities LLC, has departed from the firm after 12 years. Lastly, Wells Fargo is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to enhance its use of AI agents, aiming to improve efficiency and task automation across various departments.

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