U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $55.57 and last traded at $55.6050, with a volume of 2079271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.42.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.16.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.89%.U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,041,584.76. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total value of $1,260,955.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 36,863 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 628,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,097,000 after buying an additional 26,442 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,701,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,843,000 after buying an additional 14,921 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 91,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,854,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 177,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,512,000 after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

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.