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

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.87.

USB has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted 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.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $48.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.97. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.88 and a 12 month high of $50.47. The company has a market capitalization of $75.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.