Topic: Growth Stocks

The Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, March 6, 2009

Article Excerpt

WELLS FARGO & CO., $8.61, New York symbol WFC, has cut its quarterly dividend by 85.3%, to $0.05 a share from $0.34. The new annual rate of $0.20 yields 2.3%. The lower dividend will save the bank $5 billion a year. To put that in context, it earned $2.7 billion, or $0.70 a share, in 2008. (Its 2008 earnings included $9.9 billion of pre-tax writedowns and other charges related to its purchase of financial services company Wachovia on December 31.) The savings should help Wells Fargo cope with higher loan defaults during the recession. Wells Fargo is making good progress integrating Wachovia into its own operations. Wells Fargo’s management still feels the merger will cut the combined company’s annual expenses by $5 billion. Wells Fargo has already written down most of Wachovia’s troubled loans and securities, so any further charges should be manageable. The company has also received $25 billion under the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Wells Fargo is also…