New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 64,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,129,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.9 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $162.91 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $184.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

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.