Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $154.86.

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $178.89 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $96.46 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.34.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 22.60%.

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; 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.