Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Short Interest Update

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,440,000 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the January 15th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Discover Financial Services from $146.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.46.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:DFS traded up $6.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $196.14. 1,238,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,959. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $109.50 and a 1 year high of $205.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,693,000 after purchasing an additional 56,814 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,202,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $2,415,000. 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; 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.