Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for DFS Earnings

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report released on Tuesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.42 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.54. The consensus estimate for Discover Financial Services’ current full-year earnings is $13.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q4 2026 earnings at $4.30 EPS.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.

DFS has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.91.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $164.67 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $119.31 and a 12-month high of $205.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $187.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $38,489,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

About Discover Financial Services

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.