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

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

DFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen 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 currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $139.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.04. The stock has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,122,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,605,000 after buying an additional 803,738 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after buying an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,257,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after buying an additional 506,801 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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; 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.