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

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $136.12.

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 149,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,954,000 after buying an additional 16,863 shares during the last quarter. Schubert & Co bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $499,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 55.8% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.2 %

DFS stock opened at $148.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.02. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 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, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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.