Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Credit Suisse Group from $91.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Thursday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Credit Suisse Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.31% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other brokerages also recently commented on DFS. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Discover Financial Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Jefferies Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Co lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.04.
Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $80.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,048,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,147. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $57.50 and a 12 month high of $81.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $29,180.00, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.52.
In related news, CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $2,004,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Roger C. Hochschild sold 15,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total value of $1,019,081.82. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 769,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,390,897.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,277 shares of company stock worth $12,673,925. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 4.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,187,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $785,833,000 after purchasing an additional 538,244 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 18.3% during the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,578,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $657,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638,334 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 97.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,035,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475,126 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 84.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,904,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,703,000 after buying an additional 2,698,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 16.8% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,091,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,326,000 after buying an additional 444,325 shares during the last quarter. 84.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Discover Financial Services Company Profile
Discover Financial Services (DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company. The Company is a bank holding company, as well as a financial holding company. The Company operates through two segments: Direct Banking and Payment Services. It provides direct banking products and services, and payment services through its subsidiaries.
