U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.70 and last traded at $56.5490, with a volume of 12743026 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $60.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.19.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $87.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.24.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 17.66%.The business had revenue of $7.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 49,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 27,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 9,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.