Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Grows Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $182.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.37 and a 52-week high of $188.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.