U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $54.01 and last traded at $53.7460, with a volume of 11954107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.63.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $83.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.26.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,041,584.76. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. The trade was a 10.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 36,863 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $426,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% during the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 84,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 56.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 159,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 57,991 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.