Wells Fargo will raise its annualized dividend by 67% to 80 cents next year, according to an estimate by Edward Najarian, an analyst at International Strategy & Investment Group Inc.
Najarian, head of bank research at ISI, provided his estimate in a note to clients. The dividend is currently 48 cents, or 12 cents a quarter. Lenders must submit plans and receive approval from regulators before boosting payouts.
"We want to return more capital to our shareholders," Stumpf said Tuesday in New York at a conference held by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. "Our shareholders have been very patient." Ancel Martinez, a Wells Fargo spokesman, declined to comment on Najarian's note.
Najarian was twice named by Institutional Investor as among the best analysts of large-cap banks, and in 2009 he was ranked No. 1 in the major-bank category by Forbes magazine, according to ISI's website.
