Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Research Coverage Started at Truist Financial

Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $233.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE DFS opened at $175.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.06. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $96.46 and a 52 week high of $188.26. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DFS. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,693,000 after buying an additional 56,814 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 21.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 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; 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.