Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Short Interest Up 13.0% in October

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,270,000 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the October 15th total of 3,780,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.6 %

DFS stock traded down $2.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $173.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,049,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,828. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.07. The firm has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.19 and a 52-week high of $188.26.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.