Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,309,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DFS. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $233.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of DFS traded up $2.13 on Friday, reaching $187.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,610,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,423. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $189.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Company 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.