U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.94 and last traded at $51.92, with a volume of 1918462 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.91. The firm has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

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.