The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Charles Schwab has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 21 brokerages, with 16 buy ratings, one strong buy, three holds and one sell. Analysts’ average 12-month price target is $121.17.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.62 in EPS versus a $1.56 estimate and $7.07 billion in revenue, up 20.9% year over year. Shares opened at $106.83, while the company’s quarterly dividend equates to $1.28 annually and a 1.2% yield.
• Insiders sold 649,582 shares worth approximately $69.95 million over the past three months, while institutional investors remain major shareholders, owning 84.38% of the company.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.1667.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SCHW. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $127.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research lowered Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan Beatty sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $111,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,461.54. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dennis Howard sold 2,198 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $241,780.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,980 shares in the company, valued at $767,800. This trade represents a 23.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 649,582 shares of company stock worth $69,948,015 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.7% in the second quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 4,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 10,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.5%

SCHW stock opened at $106.83 on Tuesday. Charles Schwab has a one year low of $83.96 and a one year high of $114.53. The firm has a market cap of $184.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $107.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 24.53% and a net margin of 38.79%.The company had revenue of $7.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Charles Schwab will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.27%.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation is a financial services company that provides investment, wealth management and banking services to individual investors, financial professionals, employers and institutions. Its offerings include brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, investment advisory services, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds and other securities.

Through Charles Schwab Bank and related platforms, the company also provides deposit accounts, lending and cash-management services.

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