Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $48.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.78. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.81 and a 12 month high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stephens raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.21.

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.