U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $53.98 and last traded at $53.74, with a volume of 122994 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $83.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.23.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.