Zacks Research Comments on Discover Financial Services’ Q4 2024 Earnings (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Discover Financial Services in a report released on Wednesday, June 26th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.98 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.03. The consensus estimate for Discover Financial Services’ current full-year earnings is $11.47 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Discover Financial Services’ Q1 2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $3.24 EPS.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $107.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Discover Financial Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 1.7 %

DFS stock opened at $132.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.86. Discover Financial Services has a one year low of $79.04 and a one year high of $133.78.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $12,685,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 57.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,462 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 154.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 68,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,044,000 after purchasing an additional 41,846 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC purchased a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $885,000. Finally, PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.7% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 37,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 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; 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.