Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 46,527 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 364% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,019 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.68.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $47.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.06. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98. The firm has a market cap of $74.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.