Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Down 8.2% – Should You Sell?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares were down 8.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $152.82 and last traded at $150.84. Approximately 1,504,315 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,369,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 6.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.29.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after buying an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after acquiring an additional 80,601 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,409,000 after acquiring an additional 59,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,826,000 after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $724,720,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

About Discover Financial Services

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.