U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $65.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $49.00. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.13% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on USB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. DA Davidson upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB opened at $53.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.49 and a 1-year high of $53.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm 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 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

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.