Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Position Raised by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $9,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities decreased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $189.35. 2,832,032 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,633,049. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.95 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $168.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.