Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,183,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $724,720,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.66% of Discover Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $351,766,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 290,937 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $38,489,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $162.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.58. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.40.

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.