Stratos Investment Management LLC Takes Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, STAR Financial Bank grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% in the second quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $49.16 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $30.47 and a 1 year high of $50.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.24 and its 200-day moving average is $42.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.