New Century Financial Group LLC Buys New Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after buying an additional 16,532 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 19,283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $132.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.41. The stock has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $133.78.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HSBC raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, June 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

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; private student loans, 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.