Capital One price target raised to $222 from $188 at Argus

Argus raised the firm’s price target on Capital One (COF) to $222 from $188 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q4 earnings beat. The company’s average credit card loans rose 6% year over year, while consumer loans grew 1%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Argus also views Capital One’s ongoing merger process with Discover Financial (DFS) – where shareholder vote is set for February 18 – positively as it offers scale opportunities for marketing, compliance and technology costs, and a larger vertically-integrated platform to compete better with other payment networks.