William Blair Forecasts Reduced Earnings for LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Equities researchers at William Blair cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of LPL Financial in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $3.95 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.98. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $15.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for LPL Financial’s FY2025 earnings at $18.30 EPS.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.08% and a net margin of 8.73%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $280.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $291.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $234.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.48. The stock has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.