U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.34.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $45.73 on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $47.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in USB. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,175 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth $92,192,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,903,000 after buying an additional 2,046,522 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after buying an additional 1,097,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,284,000 after buying an additional 967,143 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

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.