Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Compass Point

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) was upgraded by research analysts at Compass Point to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on SCHW. Zacks Research upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Argus upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $122.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.17.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $105.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Charles Schwab has a twelve month low of $83.96 and a twelve month high of $107.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.64 and a 200-day moving average of $95.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.76.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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 net margin of 38.79% and a return on equity of 24.73%. The business had revenue of $7.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles Schwab will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 32,947 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.01, for a total value of $3,426,817.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,972 shares in the company, valued at $6,029,667.72. This represents a 36.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Dennis Howard sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.01, for a total transaction of $2,940,280.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,099,454.70. The trade was a 72.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 363,848 shares of company stock worth $37,874,706. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.