Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Instinet from $96.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Instinet’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.06% from the company’s current price.
DFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. ValuEngine lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Co initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Discover Financial Services and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Bank of America raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.04.
Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) traded up $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,043,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,147. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $81.25. The stock has a market cap of $29,180.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52.
In other news, EVP Carlos Minetti sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $533,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,149 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,575.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R. Mark Graf sold 16,503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.67, for a total value of $1,100,255.01. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,493,741.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 179,277 shares of company stock valued at $12,673,925. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Architects Inc lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 724.6% in the second quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 1,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 2,483.3% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. V Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $101,000. Evercore Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 24.9% in the second quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acrospire Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the third quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 84.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: This news story was reported by American Banking and Market News and is the property of of American Banking and Market News. If you are reading this news story on another publication, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright law. The legal version of this news story can be read at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2018/01/25/discover-financial-services-dfs-price-target-lowered-to-94-00-at-instinet.html.
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.
