Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.88 EPS

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

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

Discover Financial Services stock opened at $125.35 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 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 company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $2,543,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 125,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,147,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.