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Discover Financial Services (DFS), headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois, is a leading financial services company specializing in direct banking and payment services. With a market cap of $34.50 billion, Discover plays a key role in the financial sector, offering a wide range of products, including credit cards, personal loans, and student loans.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap” stocks and Discover Financial rightly fits into this category. The company fosters a culture of integrity and operational excellence while prioritizing responsible lending practices and community engagement as key aspects of its corporate strategy.
DFS shares are trading 7.8% below their 52-week high of $147.61, which they hit on Jul. 18. Also, the stock has gained 7.2% over the past three months, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index’s ($DOWI) 6.9% returns over the same time frame.
In the longer term, DFS is up 21.1% on a YTD basis, and the shares have gained 53.9% over the past 52 weeks. The Dow has gained 10.1% in 2024 and 19.9% over the past year.
To confirm its bullish trend, DFS has been trading above its 50-day moving average since mid-September and the 200-day moving average since late January.
On Jul. 17, Discover Financial rose over 3% after reporting Q2 results. The company reported earnings of $1.53 billion, or $6.06 per share, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $3.06 per share. Also, the company's revenue of $5.99 billion exceeded analysts’ estimates of $4.16 billion.
Highlighting the contrast in performance, rival American Express Company (AXP) has outperformed DFS and the border index, with a 64.2% gain over the 52 weeks.
Given DFS' recent outperformance compared to the Dow, analysts are moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 15 analysts in coverage. The mean price target is $152.54, which suggests a premium of 12.1% to its current levels.
On the date of publication, Rashmi Kumari did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
