Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.33.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $179.22 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $96.46 and a one year high of $188.26. The company has a market cap of $45.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.69 and a 200-day moving average of $141.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 22.60%.

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.