Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $188.35 and last traded at $186.88, with a volume of 176287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 3.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $176.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.42.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3,445.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 5,822 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

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; 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.