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

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $146.55 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.23. The company has a market capitalization of $36.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.