Kendall Capital Management Reduces Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Kendall Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth $2,415,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $167.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.03 and a 200 day moving average of $167.10. The company has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.