Citigroup Inc. Has $30.94 Million Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 7.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 220,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,874 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $30,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,415,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,657,000 after buying an additional 13,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $182.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $153.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.24. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $85.19 and a 1 year high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

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; 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.