Wells Fargo & Company Raises Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $160.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $152.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen 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, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $148.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 189,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,650,000 after buying an additional 16,982 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 74.3% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 7.4% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 12.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 149,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,954,000 after acquiring an additional 16,863 shares during the period. Finally, Schubert & Co purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $499,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.