Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Buys New Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:USB traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.96. 6,319,745 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,331,289. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.58. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $30.47 and a 1 year high of $50.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.65.

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.