U.S. Bancorp Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:USB)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 46,527 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 364% compared to the typical volume of 10,019 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.68.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 87.4% in the third quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,868,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,190,685. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.20 and a 200-day moving average of $45.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $37.81 and a twelve month high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced 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. 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 analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

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.