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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research report released on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $127.99 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $124.15 and a 200-day moving average of $107.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.6% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 45.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 13,623 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 97,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 27.6% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 15.2% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 13,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. 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; 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.