Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $188.35 and last traded at $186.88, with a volume of 176287 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.40 and a 200 day moving average of $151.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.