The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.50.

SCHW has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. This represents a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,968 shares of company stock valued at $8,842,821 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $74.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Charles Schwab has a 52 week low of $59.67 and a 52 week high of $83.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.64.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

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.