Valmark Advisers Inc. Grows Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $196.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DFS. UBS Group raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

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.