Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $184.88 and last traded at $180.35, with a volume of 55959 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 20.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $141.27 and a 200-day moving average of $133.25.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after buying an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.