Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

DFS has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded down $2.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $149.14. 1,251,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $82.15 and a 52-week high of $157.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.28 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $983,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,835,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forge First Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $13,341,000. 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.