Carlson Capital L P Lowers Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Carlson Capital L P reduced its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 206,800 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L P’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 83.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 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. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.53.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,266,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,935. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.37. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $122.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.59). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.77%.

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.