Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.81.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DFS. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $176.07 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $84.03 and a twelve month high of $188.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.07. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

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.