Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Issues Earnings Results

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) announced 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. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $125.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $122.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.90.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,233.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 274.6% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. 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; 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.