Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Trading 3.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares shot up 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $159.04 and last traded at $159.00. 2,779,607 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 99% from the average session volume of 1,398,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.49. The stock has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 17.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. CIBRA Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $4,855,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,171,000. Finally, Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.