Penserra Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Penserra Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 11.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 96,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,022 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $13,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $179.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $85.19 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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; 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.