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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.94.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS opened at $125.35 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Discover Financial Services

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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; private student loans, 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.