Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $157.06 and last traded at $153.16, with a volume of 533673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.46.

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

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,181,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,064,000 after buying an additional 73,902 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,066,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $91,044,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,594,000 after acquiring an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.