JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $132.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $120.00 to $132.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. HSBC increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Sunday, July 7th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $129.78.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $131.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.13. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $133.78. The company has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.0% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 653,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,585,000 after purchasing an additional 40,862 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 28.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 29,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 6,558 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 7.8% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 42.4% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 10,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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; private student loans, 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.