Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $180.57.

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $201.59 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.68. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $101.71 and a 12-month high of $204.93. The firm has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%. Analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 141.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 171,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,867,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 588.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 17,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after buying an additional 15,231 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 619,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,078,000 after buying an additional 116,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,366,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.