Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Declares $0.70 Quarterly Dividend

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 21st.

Discover Financial Services has raised its dividend by an average of 11.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Discover Financial Services has a payout ratio of 22.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Discover Financial Services to earn $12.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.4%.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $86.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.39. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $122.50.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 12.49 EPS for the current year.

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. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 274.6% during the first quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DFS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $109.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $100.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.53.

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.