Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $185.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on DFS. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.36.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $176.06 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.32.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after buying an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,460,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after acquiring an additional 73,902 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; 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.