Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Stock Price Down 8.2% – Time to Sell?

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)’s stock price dropped 8.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $152.82 and last traded at $150.84. Approximately 1,504,315 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,369,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $186.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%. Equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,045,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,377,961,000 after purchasing an additional 290,937 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,553,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,308,409,000 after purchasing an additional 59,154 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,240,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,082,826,000 after purchasing an additional 165,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $724,720,000. 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.