Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Trading Up 3.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) traded up 3.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $159.04 and last traded at $159.00. 2,779,607 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 99% from the average session volume of 1,398,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $187.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 26.18%. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.