Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report released on Saturday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $125.04 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.71.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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; private student loans, 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.