Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 5.08% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.36.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.1 %

DFS opened at $176.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.67.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.