Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) PT Raised to $161.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE DFS opened at $148.68 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $152.90. The company has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 9.8% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 189,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,650,000 after buying an additional 16,982 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 74.3% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 12.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 149,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,954,000 after purchasing an additional 16,863 shares during the period. Finally, Schubert & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $499,000. 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.