U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.93 and traded as high as $60.99. U.S. Bancorp shares last traded at $60.6590, with a volume of 5,826,892 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.21.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $92.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total value of $1,700,642.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 426,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,960.94. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USB. Northeast Investment Management boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 7.1% during the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 13,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 33,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 7,852 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $335,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a financial services holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. U.S. Bank provides banking, lending, payment, investment and wealth-management services to individuals, businesses, institutions and government entities.

The company’s consumer and business banking operations offer deposit accounts, mortgages, home-equity and consumer loans, credit cards, small-business banking and commercial lending.