U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $65.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $49.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on USB. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $53.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.49 and a 12 month high of $53.98.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 153.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807,662 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 250,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,449,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 75,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 8,272 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 44,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 24,992 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares during the last quarter. 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.