Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Boosts Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $4,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,472,771,000 after buying an additional 80,601 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after purchasing an additional 558,227 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $351,766,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,738,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,213,000 after purchasing an additional 10,528 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $167.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $189.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.87. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

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.