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

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $47.49 and last traded at $47.49, with a volume of 32164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twelve investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 4.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $76.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,381.4% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 460,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,572,000 after purchasing an additional 451,825 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.8% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 106,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 273,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

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.