Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Shares Down 5.2%

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)’s share price fell 5.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $125.82 and last traded at $126.44. 176,330 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,687,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DFS. BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $32.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.92 and a 200 day moving average of $127.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $3.00. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFS. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $279,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $121,113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.