583,000 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Bought by Empyrean Capital Partners LP

Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 583,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $100,993,000. Discover Financial Services makes up about 4.6% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.23% of Discover Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DFS. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $192.22 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $119.95 and a one year high of $205.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.16.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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.