JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) were up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $244.27 and last traded at $243.56. Approximately 1,725,590 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,972,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JPM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $217.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $216.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $217.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.81.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $232.06 and a 200 day moving average of $216.00. The firm has a market cap of $685.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.11.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.35. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $43.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.33 earnings per share. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 17.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 27.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.3% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $670,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,031,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 19,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,071,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.