Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research report report published on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on DFS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $147.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.20 and a 200-day moving average of $130.52. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $147.63. The stock has a market cap of $36.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. Discover Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.