Discover Financial Services Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 14,669 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 449% compared to the typical volume of 2,673 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,534,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,411,054. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $119.31 and a twelve month high of $205.76. The company has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.36.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.