CWA Asset Management Group LLC Invests $2.55 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,545,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.1 %

DFS opened at $175.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $82.15 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.22.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

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; 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.