StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on SCHW. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.04.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $56.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $101.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.93. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $93.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.60.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.55 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 34.60%. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Charles Schwab will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, CEO Walter W. Bettinger purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.31 per share, with a total value of $2,965,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 656,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,937,074.31. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 188,670 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $15,106,806.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 30,856,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,470,691,645.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Walter W. Bettinger acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.31 per share, with a total value of $2,965,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 656,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,937,074.31. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 71,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,165,460 and sold 728,106 shares valued at $58,067,403. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Selway Asset Management bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

About Charles Schwab

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.