Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $223,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DFS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after acquiring an additional 826,287 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 16,786.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 784,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,891,000 after acquiring an additional 779,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Discover Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE DFS opened at $197.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $186.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.07. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $121.36 and a 12 month high of $207.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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; 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.