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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report released on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $144.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $134.32 and its 200-day moving average is $129.72. The stock has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. 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 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 100,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $335,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 34,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,888,000 after purchasing an additional 20,629 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.