AF Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,405 Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AF Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of 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 bought 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000. Discover Financial Services comprises about 0.0% of AF Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $724,720,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $351,766,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 290,937 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,067,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,489,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.89. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.31 and a 12-month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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.