U.S. Bancorp Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:USB)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 16,065 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 54% compared to the average daily volume of 10,457 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on USB. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $49.21 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.94 and its 200 day moving average is $42.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $30.47 and a 1 year high of $50.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is an increase 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 announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by 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.