U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $57.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $54.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on USB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, September 13th. DA Davidson raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.65.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE USB opened at $44.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $47.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.51 and a 200 day moving average of $42.43.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in USB. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% during the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, STAR Financial Bank raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% during the second quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.