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E*TRADE Financial's (ETFC) August DARTs Rise 7% From July

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E*TRADE Financial has reported a rise in Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) for August 2018. According to its monthly market activity, the company’s DARTs came in at 267,619, up 7% from the previous month and 30% year over year. Notably, derivatives comprised 32% of DARTs in August.

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 5.9 million, comprising about 3.9 million brokerage accounts, 1.7 million stock plan accounts and 0.3 million banking accounts.

For the reported month, E*TRADE’s total brokerage accounts included 58,119 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 $1.7 billion compared with $0.5 billion recorded in the previous month.

At the end of August 2018, E*TRADE’s customer security holdings were $363.2 billion, up from the $345.4 billion reported in July. The company’s brokerage-related cash rose 2% to $53.5 billion, compared with the prior month, with customers being net sellers of about $0.3 billion in securities. In addition, bank-related cash and deposits for the company totaled $5 billion, up from $4.9 billion reported in the previous month.

Peer Performance

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. reported (IBKR - Free Report) Electronic Brokerage segment’s performance metrics for August 2018. Total client DARTs came in at 741,000, decreasing 1% from July 2018, but increasing 6% from August 2017. Total customer accounts grew 2% from the prior month and 26% year over year to 565,800 in the reported month.

Charles Schwab’s (SCHW - Free Report) monthly activity for August  reflects year-over-year and sequential rise. Total client assets came in at $3.6 trillion at the end of the month, increasing 14% from the year-ago month and 2% from the prior month. Further, client assets receiving ongoing advisory services were $1.847.3 trillion, up 17% year over year and 2% sequentially.

Among others, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA - Free Report) is expected to release August monthly activity reports later this week.

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.

E*TRADE currently sports a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). The company’s shares have lost around nearly 5.6% over the past six months compared with 11.7% decline recorded by the industry.


 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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