Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

DFS has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $125.22.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $123.10 on Wednesday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.96). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 24.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% in the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 3,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA FSB grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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; private student loans, 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.