The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Receives $86.33 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.33.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SCHW. Redburn Partners cut their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $80.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $146.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.