HFG Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

HFG Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,072,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,017,046,000 after purchasing an additional 475,579 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,655,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,891,000 after acquiring an additional 217,475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,199,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after acquiring an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after acquiring an additional 803,738 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $132.59. 722,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,263. The company has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $133.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $124.81 and its 200 day moving average is $118.86.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HSBC upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.