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

Key Points

• The Charles Schwab Corporation has received a **consensus rating of "Moderate Buy"** from analysts, with a total of 21 firms covering the stock.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a **$20 billion share repurchase plan**, indicating management’s belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported a **24.8% year-over-year revenue increase** for the last quarter, posting $5.85 billion, along with an earnings per share of **$1.14**, surpassing estimates.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.60.

SCHW has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair lowered Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.8%

SCHW opened at $93.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 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 quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $95.36 and its 200-day moving average is $86.66.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 298,214 shares of company stock worth $29,022,580 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 19,195 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 206,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,256,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 2,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 190,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,215,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.