Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Comments on Discover Financial Services’ Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) – Research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report released on Monday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst S. Sakhrani now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.44 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.24. The consensus estimate for Discover Financial Services’ current full-year earnings is $11.48 per share. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q1 2025 earnings at $2.80 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. HSBC raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS opened at $125.06 on Thursday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.25.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after buying an additional 3,102,119 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,199,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,637 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,113,000. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $81,865,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

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.