Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Short Interest Update

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,310,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the May 31st total of 2,190,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DFS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, June 29th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $132.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $133.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $125.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.23.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.