Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research report released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock opened at $125.36 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $131.65. The company has a market cap of $31.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.48 and a 200 day moving average of $109.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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; 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.