$1.84 Billion in Sales Expected for Discover Financial Services (DFS) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) will report sales of $1.84 billion for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Five analysts have provided estimates for Discover Financial Services’ earnings. The lowest sales estimate is $1.79 billion and the highest is $1.87 billion. Discover Financial Services posted sales of $2.22 billion in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year-over-year growth rate of 17.1%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, July 26th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will report full-year sales of $1.84 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $7.32 billion to $7.40 billion. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will report sales of $7.67 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $7.55 billion to $7.76 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow Discover Financial Services.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 21.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Instinet reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (down previously from $88.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, April 29th. BidaskClub raised shares of Discover Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.58.

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) traded up 0.29% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.22. 271,816 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.65. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $53.91 and a 52 week high of $74.33.

Discover Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.23 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

In other news, COO Roger C. Hochschild sold 15,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.48, for a total transaction of $953,319.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 830,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,874,457.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.18, for a total value of $1,865,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,674,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,134,835.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 142,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,976,046. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aperio Group LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.1% in the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 230,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,307,000 after buying an additional 17,194 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Investment CO increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the second quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 75,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,677,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.8% in the second quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 215,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,382,000 after buying an additional 17,384 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 277,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,243,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 16.7% in the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

Discover Financial Services (DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company. The Company is a bank holding company, as well as a financial holding company. The Company operates through two segments: Direct Banking and Payment Services. It provides direct banking products and services, and payment services through its subsidiaries.

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