Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Acquires New Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 70,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,204,000. U.S. Bancorp accounts for approximately 1.6% of Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 217,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,420,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 41,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 9,384 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2,440.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 227,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,838,000 after acquiring an additional 218,361 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 250,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $43.98 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $47.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.45.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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 permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.65.

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.