Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Short Interest Update

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the October 31st total of 4,270,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 61.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,197,000 after purchasing an additional 23,702 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 74.0% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 122.6% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 6,662 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,322,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 154.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 68,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,044,000 after purchasing an additional 41,846 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $182.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.67. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $89.58 and a 1-year high of $188.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 22.60%.

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; 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.