StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $139.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $147.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $134.53 and its 200 day moving average is $129.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.3% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.1% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

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.