Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $158.62, but opened at $154.59. Discover Financial Services shares last traded at $155.14, with a volume of 183,037 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $169.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.40.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.71. The stock has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.