Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target Raised to $161.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.4 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $146.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $79.04 and a 12 month high of $152.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.23. 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 (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd 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. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 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.