Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price raised by Evercore ISI from $156.00 to $163.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on DFS. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.53.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock opened at $154.44 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $81.09 and a 12-month high of $157.06. The company has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG 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 50-day moving average price is $139.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.39.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $91,044,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $71,693,000. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 368.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 646,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,594,000 after acquiring an additional 508,504 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $62,829,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 430.5% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 443,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,752,000 after buying an additional 360,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.