Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective hoisted by Oppenheimer from $84.00 to $88.00 in a report issued on Thursday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.59% from the stock’s previous close.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Bank of America raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.48.
Shares of Discover Financial Services (DFS) traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,049,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,147. The firm has a market cap of $29,180.00, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.52. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $57.50 and a 52-week high of $81.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55.
In related news, CFO R. Mark Graf sold 16,503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.67, for a total transaction of $1,100,255.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,493,741.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $2,302,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,409,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,196,646.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 179,277 shares of company stock valued at $12,673,925 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 172,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,232,000 after purchasing an additional 37,124 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,353,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,704,000 after purchasing an additional 511,200 shares during the last quarter. Rathbone Brothers plc raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rathbone Brothers plc now owns 231,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 460.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 102,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,883,000 after purchasing an additional 84,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $1,349,000. 84.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.