Brokerages Set Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Target Price at $138.81

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.81.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $176.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $84.03 and a 12-month high of $188.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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.