U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $47.00, but opened at $48.74. U.S. Bancorp shares last traded at $49.84, with a volume of 4,673,707 shares trading hands.

The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on USB. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2,056.5% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 218,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,774,000 after purchasing an additional 208,528 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $20,188,000. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 200.7% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 12,197 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,363,000 after buying an additional 16,686 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 90.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 862,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,676,000 after buying an additional 409,192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.6 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

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.