Westpac Banking Corp Increases Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $146.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $205.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.95.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Research analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.