First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $154.44 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.39. The company has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $81.09 and a fifty-two week high of $157.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.53.

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; 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.