StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS stock opened at $125.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $131.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted 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 net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 127.4% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 9,382 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 27,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,038,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 5.2% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.