Jefferies Financial Group Increases Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $145.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $137.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.68% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE DFS opened at $124.27 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.66.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000,000 after acquiring an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 19,283 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 72,452 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is currently 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.