Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

by · The Markets Daily

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 16,065 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 54% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,457 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on USB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.14.

Get Our Latest Research Report on USB

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in 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 valued at $89,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,175 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 2,046,522 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,179 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,284,000 after purchasing an additional 967,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,846,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,806,000 after purchasing an additional 925,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.21. 27,955,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,341,338. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $30.47 and a 1-year high of $50.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About U.S. Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

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.

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