Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $193.00 to $210.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.16% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $233.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.57.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.60. 740,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,514,864. The company’s fifty day moving average is $178.30 and its 200-day moving average is $154.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $101.71 and a 52 week high of $204.93.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 27.52%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 34,226 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 48,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,288,000 after acquiring an additional 18,215 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 141.5% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 171,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 588.8% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 17,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 15,231 shares in the last quarter. 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.