Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 4,445,174 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 229% from the previous session’s volume of 1,352,822 shares.The stock last traded at $166.85 and had previously closed at $172.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.03 and its 200-day moving average is $167.10. The stock has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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; 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.