“Stress test” results add to their appeal

Article Excerpt

Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan passed the Federal Reserve’s latest “stress test,”which measures how well financial firms would cope with a sharp jump in unemployment, falling stock prices and other unfavourable conditions. That gives both banks more room to raise their dividends and buy back shares. They are also attractive in relation to their earnings. WELLS FARGO & CO. $50 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 5.3 billion; Market cap: $265.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.wellsfargo.com) saw its revenue fall 3.0% in the first quarter of 2014, to $20.6 billion from $21.3 billion a year ago. Interest rates have crept up, which has dampened demand for new mortgages and led fewer homeowners to refinance. However, the bank continues to do a good job of screening potential borrowers. As a result, it has been setting aside less money to cover bad loans. In the latest quarter, Wells Fargo’s loan-loss provisions fell 73.3%, to $325 million from $1.2 billion. The bank is also cutting jobs at its mortgage business in response…