Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $239.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $150.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $137.00 to $186.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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 began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.00.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of DFS opened at $176.06 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $96.46 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.06. The firm has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced 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 net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 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.