River Street Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

River Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 132 shares during the quarter. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,199,000 after buying an additional 245,829 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:DFS traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.07. 3,174,543 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,687,689. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.91. The company has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $84.03 and a 12 month high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on 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. Barclays increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

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.