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

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 the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE DFS traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,548,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,981. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $79.04 and a 52 week high of $131.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. 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 31.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Discover Financial Services news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,927,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,260 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,672,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,150,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,306 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,089,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,832,000 after purchasing an additional 307,506 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 489.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,999,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.