Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $198.97 and last traded at $197.98, with a volume of 3349009 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $189.26.

The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 17.29%.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 58.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,096,000 after buying an additional 34,226 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 48,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,288,000 after acquiring an additional 18,215 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 141.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 171,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 588.8% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 17,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.01. The firm has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46.

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.