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

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $322,199,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,044,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $71,693,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $129.34 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $147.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.