Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $2,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. HSBC raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $127.70. 1,154,892 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.27.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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; private student loans, 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.