Barclays Upgrades Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) to “Overweight”

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $186.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $137.00. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.65% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.86.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $176.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $96.46 and a twelve month high of $188.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.98.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is 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.