Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Upgraded to Outperform by Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has $63.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SCHW. StockNews.com cut Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Charles Schwab from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $68.73.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $50.94 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. Charles Schwab has a one year low of $45.00 and a one year high of $86.63.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.13 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.82% and a return on equity of 27.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Charles Schwab will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.32%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Charles A. Ruffel sold 5,176 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.88, for a total transaction of $418,634.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,464.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Charles A. Ruffel sold 5,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.88, for a total value of $418,634.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,464.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Walter W. Bettinger purchased 50,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.31 per share, for a total transaction of $2,965,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 656,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,937,074.31. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,706,960 and sold 50,639 shares worth $3,930,930. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Selway Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.