Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Issues Earnings Results

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88), Briefing.com reports. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $125.35 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.02 and its 200-day moving average is $105.90.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was 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 owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $199,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7,460.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 380.1% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 1,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DFS. HSBC boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.94.

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.