Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Up 5% - Time to Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) traded up 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $167.39 and last traded at $166.67. 487,689 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,502,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DFS shares. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.40.

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Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $183.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.92. The company has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.