Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 282.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. HSBC upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $121.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.19. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 14.30%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.