Barron's Bullish On TD Ameritrade

Barron's has kind words for discount broker TD Ameritrade AMTD, which is 45% owned by Canadian banking giant Toronto Dominion TD. Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade saw its clients place an average of 413,000 orders per day during its fiscal first quarter that ended in June, Barron's reported. TD Ameritrade has $324 billion in assets after adding $28 billion to that sum through the end of its last fiscal year. Barron's said TD Ameritrade is benefiting as more investors choose to manage their accounts independently and as more brokers become registered investment advisors and choose the brokerage firm for back office support. The firm is on track to deliver earnings gains of 19% in fiscal 2011 and nearly 30% in fiscal 2012 based on consensus earnings estimates of $1.21 a share for next year and $1.56 the next, Barron's reported. Even with those numbers, TD Ameritrade still trades at a discount to rivals like Charles Schwab SCHW, Barron's noted. Parent company Toronto Dominion's stake is in the brokerage business is capped at 45% until 2016, but if you're willing to wait around, Toronto Dominion could make a tender offer for TD Ameritrade when that agreement ends, Barron's reported.