StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.88.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE DFS opened at $145.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.54 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 67.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 506,801 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. Finally, Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,044,000. Institutional investors 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.