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

Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $62.15 and last traded at $62.1550, with a volume of 3417110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.57.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $96.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.28 and its 200-day moving average is $55.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,813,307. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,376,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,810,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,701,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,755,083,000 after purchasing an additional 522,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,679,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,518,000 after purchasing an additional 443,646 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,887,497,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after buying an additional 32,725,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.