Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $188.40.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,489,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, JBGlobal.com LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $346,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $156.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-year high of $205.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $175.40 and its 200 day moving average is $171.86.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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.