Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. UBS Group currently has $239.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $150.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $165.00.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock traded up $6.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $176.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,965,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,302. The company has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.70. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Pension Service grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,946 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $4,835,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,415,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

About Discover Financial Services

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.