Barclays Raises Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Price Target to $120.00

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its target price raised by Barclays from $112.00 to $120.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $124.65.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Discover Financial Services stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.27. 935,263 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,359,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.92. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.96). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Discover Financial Services's payout ratio is 24.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Discover Financial Services

In other news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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; private student loans, 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.