US Bancorp DE Cuts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

US Bancorp DE cut its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,068 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.9% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.2% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 29,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 12.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,323,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,352,000 after acquiring an additional 377,737 shares during the period. 83.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $86.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $122.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by ($0.59). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.54 EPS. Discover Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DFS. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $112.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $109.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.53.

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; 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.