Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations 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. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $125.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.45. 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 twelve month low of $79.04 and a twelve month high of $131.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.90.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.23%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Insider Transactions at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value 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 approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 274.6% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.94.

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.