E*TRADE Financial (ETFC) February DARTs Up 5% Sequentially

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

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.

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