U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.94 and last traded at $51.92, with a volume of 1918462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on USB shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 16.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 401,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,348,000 after buying an additional 56,990 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,363,000 after purchasing an additional 16,686 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 11.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 564,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,231,000 after purchasing an additional 56,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 314,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,570,000 after buying an additional 133,498 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.