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

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

DFS stock traded down $2.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $173.22. 1,049,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,684,828. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $85.19 and a 52-week high of $188.26. The company has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.90 and a 200-day moving average price 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, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 22.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.81.

Institutional Trading of Discover Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,498,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,472,771,000 after purchasing an additional 80,601 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 8.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,493,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,314,000 after acquiring an additional 558,227 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,834,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Discover Financial Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Discover Financial Services by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,281,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.94% of the company’s stock.

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.