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

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $186.46.

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $200.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $205.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.43. The company has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.