Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the October 31st total of 4,270,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DFS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of DFS stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $182.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 577,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,969. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $89.58 and a one year high of $188.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.67. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.60%.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Discover Financial Services by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 7.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 117.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 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; 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.