Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Trading Down 4% – Should You Sell?

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)’s stock price dropped 4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $71.47 and last traded at $71.48. Approximately 1,742,390 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 4,817,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cowen boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.19.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.63. The company has a market capitalization of $129.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 39.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 62,345 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $4,521,259.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 60,619,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,396,116,784.92. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,968 shares of company stock worth $8,842,821 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 155.9% during the 3rd quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 104,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,751,000 after purchasing an additional 63,463 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,640,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,299,000 after buying an additional 140,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. now owns 775,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,122,000 after buying an additional 64,041 shares during 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.