CFRA Keeps Hold Opinion On Shares Of Wells Fargo & Company

We decrease our target price by $3 to $42, 8.3x our 2024 EPS estimate, below the three-year historic average of 13.6x given declining credit quality expectations. We increase our 2023 EPS view by $0.34 to $5.24 and raise 2024’s by $0.23 to $5.08. WFC posted Q3 EPS of $1.48 vs. $0.86 a year ago, $0.24 above consensus on resilient net interest income of $13.1 billion, which rose 8% Y/Y. WFC has handled the elevated rate regime in an impressive manner, and we note the bank’s net interest margin of 3.03% (+20 bps Y/Y) remains a full 50 bps above pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, we were encouraged by investment banking fees, which surged 31% higher given increased activity across all products. However, we remain cautious on WFC given clear credit deterioration in both net charge-offs (+19 bps to 0.36%) and nonperforming loans (+27 bps to 0.87%). On the positive side, we view WFC as one of the best-capitalized banks in our coverage with a robust CET1 ratio of 11.0% vs. regulatory minimum of 8.9%.

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