Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed its "hold (C+)" rating for Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), indicating a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Charles Schwab's recent earnings report revealed a net margin of 33.68% and revenue increase of 24.8% compared to last year, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion share buyback program, suggesting that its board believes the stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SCHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Truist Financial set a $112.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.57.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $93.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.89. Charles Schwab has a fifty-two week low of $64.97 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The company's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $4,851,552.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total transaction of $299,122.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,245,830.74. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 267,128 shares of company stock valued at $26,232,077. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 131.6% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 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.

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