Vazirani Asset Management LLC Invests $4.44 Million in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Vazirani Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,438,000. Discover Financial Services accounts for 13.8% of Vazirani Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $351,766,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,974,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,268,000 after purchasing an additional 826,287 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 208.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 561,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,252,000 after buying an additional 379,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.3 %

DFS opened at $185.02 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.05. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $119.95 and a 12 month high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.