HFG Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,527 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

HFG Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 238.7% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,073,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after buying an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $132.59. 722,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,263. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $133.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.86. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, 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 (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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.