Westpac Banking Corp Buys 42,705 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 50.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,705 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of USB. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

USB opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $43.46 and a fifty-two week high of $64.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.24 and its 200 day moving average is $56.22.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.52%.

Trending Headlines about U.S. Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting U.S. Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) from in-line to outperform and set a $72 price target, pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. The Fly article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised U.S. Bancorp (USB) from underweight to neutral and increased its price target to $67.50, citing growth in fee revenue. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted U.S. Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compared USB’s year-to-date performance with other financial stocks, suggesting the stock has been performing solidly relative to peers, but these pieces were mostly informational rather than clearly market-moving. MSN article

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,731.84. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.