GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $176.06 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $96.46 and a fifty-two week high of $188.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.67. The company has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.36.

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; 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.