Ritholtz Wealth Management Makes New $451,000 Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Posted by on Jul 5th, 2023

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Adirondack Retirement Specialists Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 151.2% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DFS opened at $118.09 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $87.64 and a 52-week high of $119.91. The company has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.84 by ($0.26). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 25th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Discover Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 24th. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.86%.

Discover Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 19th that allows the company to buyback $2.70 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $111.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.67.

About Discover Financial Services

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

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