Analysts Set U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Price Target at $48.34

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.65.

USB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:USB opened at $44.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.46. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $47.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.