J.P. Morgan analysts on Monday said Wells Fargo & Co.’s 17% dividend hike outpaced other banks in a flurry of dividend updates from the U.S.’s largest banks, but it was still less than expected.
Broadly, bank stocks maintained their upward momentum in the first day of trading in the second half of 2023, after the U.S. Federal Reserve wrapped up its annual stress tests last week and big lenders revealed annual dividend plans late Friday.
In a separate broker comment, Wells Fargo
WFC,
moved up by 1% as Raymond James analyst David Long raised his target price for the stock to $51 a share from $48 a share and reiterated a strong buy rating on the megabank.
“We remain bullish on WFC shares, as we see several positive catalysts on the horizon, including a lower-than-peer deposit beta, further expense rationalization, and the eventual removal of consent orders (improved governance),” Long said.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLF,
was up by 0.2%, the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index
BKX,
rose 1.2%, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF
KRE,
is up 2% and SPDR S&P Bank ETF
KBE,
is up by 1.7%.
Bank of New York Mellon
BK,
is up 0.8% after it hiked its dividend by 13.5% and State Street
STT,
rose 1.2% after it increased its dividend by 9.5%.
Citi
C,
rose 2% and JP Morgan Chase
JPM,
moved up by 0.7% after they increased their dividends by 4% to 5% each. It was the first dividend increase at Citi in four years.
Northern Trust
NTRS,
rose 1.5% and Truist Financial
TFC,
rose 2.8%. Neither of the two banks raised raise dividends.
Citizens Financial
CFG,
was up 2.4% and US Bancorp
USB,
was up by 1.5%. The two banks did not comment on any potential dividend increases.
Goldman Sachs
GS,
was higher by 0.6% and Morgan Stanley
MS,
was up by 1%. The two investment banks increased dividends by 9% to 10%.
For now, lenders are holding off on any new stock repurchase plans as they await further direction from regulators on capital requirements, J.P. Morgan analysts noted.
Meanwhile, Raymond James analyst Long reiterated an underperform rating on US Bancorp and said the bank’s outlook for net interest income and net interest margin is “overly optimistic” given higher deposit costs in the industry and mixes shifting away from noninterest-bearing sources. US Bancorp stock was up 1.9% in Monday morning trading.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
