Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.94.

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.6 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $140.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $147.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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.