UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Wells Fargo to Buy on Strong Management, Profitability

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) from Hold to Buy and announced a $42.00 price target.

Stifel Nicolaus noted, "The historical P/E mulitples for our large cap bank universe range between 10.0.x-12.0x forward earnings. We believe WFC's strong management team, superior profitabilty and high quality franchise warrants at least the mid-point of this range. We arrive at our $42 target price by applying a 11.0x multiple to our 2014 estimate of $3.83."

Wells Fargo closed at $34.88 on Friday.

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