Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Invests $2.42 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 17,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $177.67 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $82.68 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.68.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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; 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.