2,007 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Bought by First Western Trust Bank

First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.39.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; 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.