Blackstone Inc. Acquires New Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Blackstone Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 175,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,315,000. Blackstone Inc. owned 0.07% of Discover Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus raised Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,024,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,643,603. 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 stock has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.95 and a 12-month high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

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.