Zacks Investment Research | Mar 14, 2018 09:38PM ET
E*TRADE Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC) reported a rise in Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) for February 2018. According to its monthly market activity, the company’s DARTs came in at 330,121, up 5% from the prior month and 51% year over year. Notably, derivatives comprised 31% of DARTs in February.
Broker performance is generally measured through DARTs that represent the number of trades from which brokers can expect commission or fees. The rise in DARTs largely reflects investors’ willingness to invest in equity markets.
At the end of the month under review, E*TRADE’s total number of accounts were approximately 5.5 million, comprising about 3.7 million brokerage accounts, 1.5 million stock plan accounts and 0.3 million banking accounts.
For the reported month, E*TRADE’s total brokerage accounts included 51,988 gross new brokerage accounts. Total brokerage accounts highlight the company’s ability to gain and retain customers who trade and invest.
Moreover, E*TRADE’s net new brokerage assets came in at $2 billion compared with $1.5 billion recorded in the prior month.
At the end of February 2018, E*TRADE’s customer security holdings were $300.2 billion, down from $304.7 billion reported in January 2018. The company’s brokerage-related cash increased slightly to $53.1 billion from $53 billion in the prior month, with customers being the net buyers of about $1.8 billion in securities. In addition, bank-related cash and deposits for the company totaled $4.9 billion, flat sequentially.
Peer Performance
Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) Electronic Brokerage segment reported a year-over-year increase in DARTs for February 2018, last week. The segment deals with clearance and settlement of trades for individual and institutional clients globally.Total client DARTs came in at 1,020,000, increasing 50% from February 2017 and 13% from January 2018.
The Charles Schwab Corporation’s (NYSE:SCHW) monthly activity report for February 2018 shows an improvement from the year-ago period. Total client assets were $3.3 trillion at the end of the month, jumping 15% year over year.
Our Viewpoint
Growth in DARTs and new brokerage accounts will prove beneficial for the company. We, however, are concerned about the uncertain macroeconomic environment, which might lead to lesser trading activities.
The company’s shares have gained 59.5% over the last six months compared with 22.2% growth recorded by the industry .
E*TRADE carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see .
Another stock to consider in the same space is TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:AMTD) , sporting a Zacks Rank of 1. It’s current-year earnings estimates have been revised nearly 1% upward, over the last 30 days. Also, its shares have gained 51% in a year’s time.
Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?
Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax (NYSE:EFX) announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.
Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.
Zacks Investment Research
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.