Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $191.91.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DFS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $152.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.39. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

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.