U.S. Bancorp Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:USB)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 46,527 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 364% compared to the typical volume of 10,019 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 87.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $48.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.00. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (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%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 61.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.68.

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.