Birch Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Birch Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after buying an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DFS traded down $1.07 on Tuesday, reaching $178.14. 658,045 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $96.46 and a 52-week high of $188.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.39 and a 200-day moving average of $149.34.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DFS. Barclays raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.07.

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.