Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note released on Sunday. The firm issued a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.53.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $154.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $81.09 and a one year high of $157.06. The company has a market cap of $38.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.87 and a 200-day moving average of $132.39.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,197,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,341,000. 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; 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.