Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Position Boosted by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $214,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 6,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Aequim Alternative Investments LP bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $9,832,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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. Thirteen 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $176.07 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.98. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $84.03 and a fifty-two week 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.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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