1,564 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 130.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,917,000 after purchasing an additional 16,905 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 97.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Team Hewins LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DFS. Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.78.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $131.28. The stock had a trading volume of 756,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,775. The firm has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $133.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.27.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.58 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.