U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.21% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on USB. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $50.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.58. The company has a market cap of $78.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 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. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.21 and a twelve month high of $51.76.

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 196,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,802,000 after buying an additional 24,589 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $8,133,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 23.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 10,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,371,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,051,096,000 after purchasing an additional 502,776 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.