Brokerages Set Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target at $129.78

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.78.

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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 raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 7.8% in the 3rd 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. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 42.4% in the 3rd 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. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,097,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 58,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 4.4 %

DFS opened at $137.06 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $137.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

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.