Discover Financial Services (DFS) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Deutsche Bank

Equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in a research note issued on Tuesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DFS. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. ValuEngine raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Buckingham Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Barclays set a $73.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush set a $80.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.45.

Discover Financial Services (DFS) traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $76.91. 2,900,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,250,000. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $57.50 and a 12-month high of $77.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $27,950.00, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.53.

In other Discover Financial Services news, CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $2,004,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane E. Offereins sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.36, for a total transaction of $1,055,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 160,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,310,158.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,019 shares of company stock worth $8,892,976. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 97.6% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,035,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475,126 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $199,350,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 320.9% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,672,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,515 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.3% in the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,578,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $657,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638,334 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 17.4% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,374,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,882 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.77% of the company’s stock.

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About Discover Financial Services

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.