Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 2.6 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $158.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.76. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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.