Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $176.98 and last traded at $182.56, with a volume of 2827393 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DFS. UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.82 and a 200 day moving average of $175.01. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.92. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 4,253 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 15.7% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 294,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.