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

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.57.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $173.23 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.71 and its 200 day moving average is $148.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 294,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 117.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.