U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $47.00, but opened at $48.74. U.S. Bancorp shares last traded at $49.84, with a volume of 4,673,707 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 4.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

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 Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after buying an additional 2,116,175 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,903,000 after buying an additional 2,046,522 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after buying an additional 1,097,179 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,284,000 after acquiring an additional 967,143 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,846,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,806,000 after acquiring an additional 925,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

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.