Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Hits New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $198.97 and last traded at $197.98, with a volume of 3349009 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $189.26.

The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.57.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 58.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 34,226 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 48,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,288,000 after purchasing an additional 18,215 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 141.5% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 171,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 588.8% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 17,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after buying an additional 15,231 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.01.

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.