U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Stock Has Average Target Price of $68.65

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.65.

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. CLSA set a $67.50 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 20th. HSBC increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total value of $1,700,642.79. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,262 shares in the company, valued at $26,585,960.94. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 23,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 4.1% during the third quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 8,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Cornermen Financial LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $664,000. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 8.0% in the third quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $1,732,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of USB traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.99. 4,033,892 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,119,969. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.50 and a 200-day moving average of $58.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.02 and a 1-year high of $66.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.11%.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank, a financial services provider serving consumers, businesses, institutions and government entities across the United States. Its history traces to 1863, when one of its predecessor institutions, First National Bank of Cincinnati, was established. U.S. Bank offers consumer and business banking, lending, payment services, wealth management, investment services and corporate trust services. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, commercial loans and digital banking solutions.