StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DFS. Citigroup lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $125.04. 811,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,326,064. The company has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $124.41 and its 200 day moving average is $108.48. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth $240,000. Team Hewins LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.5% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Discover Financial Services

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.