StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on DFS. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $122.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.98. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The company has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by 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.