Wells Fargo shares close higher on Monday, CEO total compensation decreases 12% in 2020

According to a regulatory filing, the annual compensation for Wells Fargo & Co’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Scharf will be almost 12% lower in 2020 compared to a year ago.

Scharf’s total compensation for 2020 will decrease to $20.3 million from $23 million in 2019, the filing revealed.

Wells Fargo shares closed higher for the fourth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Monday. The stock went up 0.37% ($0.11) to $29.99, after touching an intraday low at $29.68, or a price level not seen since January 4th ($29.41).

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company have retreated 0.63% so far in 2021 compared with a 0.47% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, Wells Fargo & Co’s stock went down 43.90%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Among the reasons for the CEO’s lower annual pay were the bank’s weaker financial results last year, which were considerably affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Wells Fargo’s board noted.

In 2020, the Wall Street bank reported its first quarterly loss since 2008.

The 12% drop in Scharf’s total compensation compares with a 36% slump in total pay for Goldman Sachs’ Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and with a 20% increase in total pay for Morgan Stanley’s Chief Executive James Gorman. At the same time, annual pay for J.P. Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon remained at $31.5 million.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Wells Fargo’s stock price, have a median target of $37.00 with a high estimate of $65.00 and a low estimate of $32.00. The median estimate represents a 23.37% upside compared to the closing price of $29.99 on February 1st.

The same media also reported that at least 14 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated Wells Fargo’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.