The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Short Interest Down 13.7% in June

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 15,440,000 shares, a decline of 13.7% from the June 15th total of 17,890,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com cut Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,446 shares in the company, valued at $5,172,690.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.51, for a total value of $413,870.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,414.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,446 shares in the company, valued at $5,172,690.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 658,663 shares of company stock valued at $48,997,146. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nelson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 37,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.5% in the first quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 5,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Sweet Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Ironwood Financial llc lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 10,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 45,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.13 on Monday, hitting $75.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,375,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,156,106. Charles Schwab has a twelve month low of $48.66 and a twelve month high of $79.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.30 and a 200-day moving average of $70.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 26.14%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Research analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.84%.

About Charles Schwab

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.