CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys New Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $170.22 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.