Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives $140.33 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $146.13.

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $175.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $96.46 and a 12 month high of $188.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,046,000 after buying an additional 23,982 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after buying an additional 3,756 shares in the last quarter. 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.