Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Has $210.44 Million Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,500,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500,000 shares during the quarter. Discover Financial Services makes up 5.0% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 0.60% of Discover Financial Services worth $210,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $91,044,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1,272.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 265,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,199,000 after purchasing an additional 245,829 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 478,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 192,142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE DFS opened at $182.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $89.58 and a twelve month high of $188.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.66 and its 200 day moving average is $139.67.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.