Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report released on Sunday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on DFS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $148.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $157.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.70.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth $917,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth $228,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.