Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Upgraded by Citigroup to "Buy" Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has $102.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $85.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.94.

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Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE SCHW traded down $5.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,464,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,007,459. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $84.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $125.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. Charles Schwab's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.