Opinions
Jim Cramer - Mad Money
Charles Schwab Corp
SCHW-N
BUY
Mar 27, 2023
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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Just bought it after the January numbers came out; cash sorting was much better than expected at $6.8 billion on their balance sheets though $9 billion was expected as clients suffer FOMO and are buying stocks. But this helps their net interest income and net interest margin.
He's been recommending this since last year's regional bank crisis when Schwab got caught in the crosshairs. It's a premier brokerage house with an amazing franchise. It was insane that shares nearly plunged in half. Last Monday, they reported a great quarter which sent shares 5% higher as the averages sank. Reported top and bottom line beats and added 1 million new accounts in Q1.
Previously caught up in regional bank concerns, and now interest rates coming down not necessarily good (less $$ earned on the float kept for customers). Can't win. Great platform, makes a lot of money, so no worries about the company. Trading volume has probably slowed a bit. Well run. He's not interested.
It's too early to bottom-fish the regional banks. But the contagion has hit related sectors and stocks like Schwab, which has plunged from $76 below $52 though has bounced past $54. It's doing worse than the regional bank sector. Schwab got lumped unfairly with the regionals. Investors are nervous with a company that most of its investments in securities rather than loans. Schwab has 60% of their interest earnings assets in securities. Another concern is their $14 billion in unrealized losses in agency mortgage-backed securities, which is only a real worry if Schwab must sell its bonds in a pinch rather than holding them to maturity. Buy this dip. They can tap many sources of capital to stay liquid. They should have $100 billion in cash flow this year from regular business and can raise another $8 billion a month in selling certificates of deposit. Trading at 13x earnings now, a steep discount from its normal 19x. There's a ton of insider buying from the CEO and other execs. Net interest margin spreads can tighten, though. Earnings estimates have recently fallen. Bottom line: There's no crisis in Schwab.