Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Acquires 2,915 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 296,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $13,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.71.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $49.16 on Friday. 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 cap of $76.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.47 and a 12-month high of $50.47.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

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.