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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $137.32 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $147.61. The stock has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $983,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,633,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,968,000 after purchasing an additional 251,909 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $4,835,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

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.