Citigroup Upgrades U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) to “Buy”

Citigroup upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $65.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $49.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on USB. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:USB opened at $53.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.36. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.49 and a twelve month high of $53.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp 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 value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

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.