U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $57.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $54.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on USB. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.34.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $45.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.38. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $47.31.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of USB. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, STAR Financial Bank boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% during the second quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.