StockNews.com Downgrades Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.40.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $146.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $119.31 and a one year high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by 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; 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.