Jefferies Financial Group Increases Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $145.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $137.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

DFS opened at $125.35 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $131.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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; private student loans, 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.