SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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 shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $163.71 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $119.31 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The firm has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $188.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.66. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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.