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

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DFS. National Pension Service raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,415,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 21.5% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,657,000 after buying an additional 13,427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $182.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.86 and a 200 day moving average of $139.27. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $85.37 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The stock has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

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.