AI
Saturday, May 02, 2009 9:40:54 PM
WFC is hanging around 20
Buffett says Wells Fargo to ride out credit crisis
Warren Buffett on Saturday expressed strong support for Wells Fargo & Co, one of the largest equity holdings of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, saying it is a "fabulous" bank that is well-positioned to ride out the financial crisis.
Buffett said the fourth-largest U.S. bank is strong enough to add client relationships and deposits, earn a good spread on its assets and liabilities, and was strong enough to absorb the troubled Wachovia Corp.
"Wells Fargo will be a lot better off in a couple of years than if none of this had happened," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting. Noting that Wells Fargo shares fell below $9 each this year -- they bottomed at $7.80 on March 5 -- he added that at that lowered price, "If I had put all my net worth in one stock, that would be the stock."
At year end, Berkshire owned 304.4 million Wells Fargo shares, a 7.2 percent stake, valued at $8.97 billion, according to its annual report. Wells Fargo was the company's largest equity holding other than Coca-Cola Co.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKWEN841820090502
Buffett says Wells Fargo to ride out credit crisis
Warren Buffett on Saturday expressed strong support for Wells Fargo & Co, one of the largest equity holdings of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, saying it is a "fabulous" bank that is well-positioned to ride out the financial crisis.
Buffett said the fourth-largest U.S. bank is strong enough to add client relationships and deposits, earn a good spread on its assets and liabilities, and was strong enough to absorb the troubled Wachovia Corp.
"Wells Fargo will be a lot better off in a couple of years than if none of this had happened," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual meeting. Noting that Wells Fargo shares fell below $9 each this year -- they bottomed at $7.80 on March 5 -- he added that at that lowered price, "If I had put all my net worth in one stock, that would be the stock."
At year end, Berkshire owned 304.4 million Wells Fargo shares, a 7.2 percent stake, valued at $8.97 billion, according to its annual report. Wells Fargo was the company's largest equity holding other than Coca-Cola Co.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKWEN841820090502
"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for
danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity." -J. Kennedy
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