Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) - Wedbush decreased their Q3 2017 EPS estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report issued on Friday. Wedbush analyst H. Coffey now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $1.58 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.60. Wedbush also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ FY2017 earnings at $5.90 EPS, Q3 2018 earnings at $1.77 EPS, Q4 2018 earnings at $1.57 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $6.65 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $7.25 EPS.
A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on DFS. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. decreased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.21.
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Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) opened at 60.94 on Monday. Discover Financial Services has a 52 week low of $53.91 and a 52 week high of $74.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.01.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share.
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DFS. V Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $101,000. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 64.2% in the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. FNY Managed Accounts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth $124,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter worth $168,000. Institutional investors own 84.14% of the company’s stock.
In related news, COO Roger C. Hochschild sold 15,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.48, for a total value of $953,319.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 830,257 shares in the company, valued at $51,874,457.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carlos Minetti sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.42, for a total transaction of $499,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 205,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,805,400.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,258 shares of company stock worth $3,328,280 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 24th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Discover Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.73%.
Discover Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.23 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
About Discover Financial Services
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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