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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

DFS opened at $142.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $134.78 and its 200-day moving average is $128.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $147.61.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. Analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1,973.4% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 12,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 11,446 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 152.1% in the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,966,000. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 143.6% during the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,097,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

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.