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

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.07 and last traded at $64.81, with a volume of 5602522 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on USB. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. CLSA set a $67.50 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.06.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 3.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.25 and its 200-day moving average is $57.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 13.69%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Stephen L. Philipson sold 36,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total transaction of $2,328,030.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,969 shares in the company, valued at $4,729,044.52. This represents a 32.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of USB. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.