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

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.94.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE DFS opened at $138.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $34.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 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; 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.