Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Increases Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 842 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 7.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 19.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 28.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 27,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,820,000 after buying an additional 5,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $176.00 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.65. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

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.