Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

DFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

DFS opened at $201.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.01. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $101.71 and a 52 week high of $204.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 27.52%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is 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.