SteelPeak Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 159.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,046 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 10,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 5,423 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 140,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,179,000 after purchasing an additional 12,647 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 5.7 %

NYSE:DFS traded up $7.08 on Friday, reaching $130.81. 3,689,864 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,612. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.81 and a 200-day moving average of $118.86. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

About Discover Financial Services

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.