Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Discover Financial Services’ Q2 2022 Earnings (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at William Blair raised their Q2 2022 earnings estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report released on Thursday, April 28th. William Blair analyst R. Napoli now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $3.73 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.55. William Blair also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q1 2023 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $3.42 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $3.85 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $13.87 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $3.73 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $15.48 EPS.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.65. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 38.42%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on DFS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Discover Financial Services from $144.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 28th. Zacks Investment Research raised Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 4th. Piper Sandler raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $142.00 in a report on Monday, January 24th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.53.

NYSE:DFS opened at $112.46 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $100.07 and a 12 month high of $135.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 1.57.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 25th. This is a positive change from Discover Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.80%.

In related news, EVP Daniel Peter Capozzi sold 8,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.59, for a total value of $1,077,578.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Shifra Kolsky sold 800 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,892 shares of company stock worth $1,747,661. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $354,824,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,394,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 189.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,985,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,078 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 136.6% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,938,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,395 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,003,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $736,126,000 after purchasing an additional 782,311 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.95% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile (Get Rating)

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.

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