Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $201.59 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $101.71 and a 52-week high of $204.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $178.82 and its 200 day moving average is $154.51. The company has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 27.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth $4,835,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.