5 Important Stock Picks of Major Hedge Funds in 2021

2. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88  

Gain in Share Price Over Past Year as of January 4: 77.7%  

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had a stellar 2021 and looks set to continue on that trajectory in 2022. The firm beat market estimates on earnings per share and revenue for the third quarter by $0.17 and $520 million respectively. The earnings beat was driven by growth in consumer and commercial banking. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) will likely improve efficiency ratios in the coming months and increase revenues as interest rates rise. 

Hedge funds are bullish on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 88 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $6 billion in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). 

In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Davis Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Detractors to performance relative to the index include financial services holdings such as Wells Fargo. While banks in general have suffered due to the recession and experienced credit losses, Wells Fargo also suffered from operational missteps. It is our expectation, however, that our bank holdings in general will benefit from stronger economic growth as the pandemic recedes; and we believe Wells Fargo in particular, will, over time, lower their costs and successfully grow their businesses.”