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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research report report published on Monday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Discover Financial Services from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $124.00 to $112.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $121.83.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $131.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.64. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 24.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Prudential PLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 127.4% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 9,382 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 27,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.2% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.