Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report issued on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 5.2 %

NYSE DFS opened at $129.09 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.37. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $147.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,199,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,637 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,113,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,605,000 after purchasing an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,044,000. 86.94% of the stock is 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.