AF Advisors Inc. Makes New $243,000 Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

AF Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000. Discover Financial Services makes up about 0.0% of AF Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.89. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.31 and a fifty-two week high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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 forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DFS. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

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.