Smithfield Trust Co Raises Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 78.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

DFS stock opened at $181.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $205.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.62. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.