Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys New Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 28,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 472.1% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 10,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 8,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $200.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $186.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.89 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

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.