Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $160.07.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

DFS stock opened at $175.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.88. The company has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $96.46 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $453,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 58,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.