The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• The Charles Schwab Corporation has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 21 analysts, with 16 recommending a buy, 3 a hold, and 2 a sell rating.
• Insider transactions show a significant amount of stock sales, with insiders selling 308,016 shares worth approximately $29.3 million in the last three months, indicating a potential shift in sentiment among company executives.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share buyback program, allowing for the repurchase of up to 11.6% of its shares, reinforcing management's belief in the stock's undervalued status.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.60.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair lowered Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded up $0.2770 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $95.7870. The stock had a trading volume of 2,052,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,973,876. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.54 and a 200 day moving average of $85.16. The stock has a market cap of $173.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. Charles Schwab has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.Charles Schwab's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,332,727.83. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total value of $316,037.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,519.28. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 250,340 shares of company stock worth $24,250,303. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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.