GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Grows Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 153.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,114 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $6,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $743,663,000 after buying an additional 3,102,119 shares during the period. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $81,865,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 336.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,133,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,220,000 after acquiring an additional 874,020 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 30.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,233,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,473,000 after purchasing an additional 526,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,343,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,429,000 after purchasing an additional 399,209 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $125.04 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.48. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 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.