Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives $136.12 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.12.

DFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $146.55 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.23. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $152.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after purchasing an additional 508,504 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,829,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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; 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.