Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Trading Down 8.2% - Here's What Happened

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) fell 8.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $152.82 and last traded at $150.84. 1,504,315 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 1,369,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.00.

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Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $186.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Hedge funds and other 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.