Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes $72,000 Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.12.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.61 and a 12 month high of $51.76. The firm has a market cap of $79.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.02. 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 50-day moving average price of $46.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.46.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. 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 is presently 61.16%.

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

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.