Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $158.62, but opened at $154.59. Discover Financial Services shares last traded at $155.14, with a volume of 183,037 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DFS. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.86.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.