Research Analysts Set Expectations for Discover Financial Services’ Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) – Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report issued on Monday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst S. Sakhrani now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.44 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.24. The consensus estimate for Discover Financial Services’ current full-year earnings is $11.39 per share. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q1 2025 earnings at $2.80 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, April 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE DFS opened at $123.58 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $124.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $79.04 and a 52-week high of $131.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DFS. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.9% in the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 335.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 49,145 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 916,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000,000 after acquiring an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 121,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 19,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 339,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 72,452 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

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; 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.