Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $83.49, but opened at $81.00. Charles Schwab shares last traded at $80.42, with a volume of 110,946 shares.

The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.02). Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 20.59%. The company had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 11th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 26.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.62.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, EVP Nigel J. Murtagh sold 16,169 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,293,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,143,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 132,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.66, for a total value of $10,519,103.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 31,111,456 shares in the company, valued at $2,478,338,584.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nigel J. Murtagh sold 16,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,293,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,143,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 601,293 shares of company stock valued at $47,659,759. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Selway Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.48. The company has a market capitalization of $147.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage, investment advisory, banking and trust, retirement plan, and other corporate brokerage services; equity compensation plan sponsors full-service recordkeeping for stock plans, stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, and stock appreciation rights; and retail investor and mutual fund clearing services, as well as compliance solutions.