Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 4,445,174 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 229% from the previous session’s volume of 1,352,822 shares.The stock last traded at $166.85 and had previously closed at $172.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DFS shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $189.03 and its 200 day moving average is $167.10. The stock has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its 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 26.18%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.67%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $22,171,000. Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 4,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.