Royal Bank of Canada Increases Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $161.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $148.00 to $161.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.29% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $148.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.05. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after acquiring an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73,902 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares during the last quarter. 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.