U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.94 and last traded at $51.92, with a volume of 1918462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 61.16%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,913,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,922,784,000 after buying an additional 15,746,852 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,642 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,175 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 109.7% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,531,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.