Easterly Investment Partners LLC Takes $206,000 Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.0% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 653,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,585,000 after acquiring an additional 40,862 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 484,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,984,000 after purchasing an additional 16,212 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 29,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,558 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.78.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.08. 142,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,845,726. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $133.78.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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.