Discover Financial Services Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 (NYSE:DFS)

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd.

Discover Financial Services has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Discover Financial Services has a payout ratio of 21.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Discover Financial Services to earn $13.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.9%.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DFS opened at $124.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a 12-month low of $79.04 and a 12-month high of $131.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Discover Financial Services will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DFS shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Discover Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $139.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.94.

Insider Transactions at Discover Financial Services

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $3,748,193.41. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Discover Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $199,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 7,460.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its position in Discover Financial Services by 380.1% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 1,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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; 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.