Short Interest in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Grows By 13.0%

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,270,000 shares, a growth of 13.0% from the October 15th total of 3,780,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DFS. StockNews.com cut shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.81.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $174.59. 181,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,680,875. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $85.19 and a one year high of $188.26. The firm has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.90 and a 200-day moving average of $136.07.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its 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 net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.60%.

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; 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.