Vicus Capital Buys Shares of 1,706 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Vicus Capital bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,073,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $130.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $32.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Profile

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.