Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stake Lifted by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,457 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $15,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $38,489,000. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Finally, JBGlobal.com LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $346,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Discover Financial Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.64.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS traded down $2.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $197.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,289,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,095. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.16. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $119.95 and a fifty-two week high of $207.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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.