Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

DFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $187.17 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $189.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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; 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.