J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 238.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 10,418 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $983,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DFS. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $136.11 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $147.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $134.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.31. The company has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; 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.