Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $186.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $137.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on DFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.07.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $175.89 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $96.46 and a 1 year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.88. The company has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 20,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.