Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $159.63, but opened at $170.52. Discover Financial Services shares last traded at $164.25, with a volume of 663,298 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $188.00 to $184.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $188.91.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 438.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.