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

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on DFS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

DFS opened at $137.63 on Tuesday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Discover Financial Services’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 4.3% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.