Entropy Technologies LP Increases Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 347.2%, acquiring 57,509 additional shares and raising its total holdings to 74,074 shares valued at around $3.1 million.
• Insider transactions reveal that EVP Souheil Badran sold 23,727 shares for over $1 million, marking a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the company.
• Analysts have mixed predictions for U.S. Bancorp, with thirteen issuing a buy rating, but several lowering target prices, leading to an average target price of $52.55.

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 347.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 57,509 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 10,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 904 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 4.2% during the first quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 6,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:USB traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.62. The company had a trading volume of 10,438,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,727,032. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average of $43.88. The company has a market cap of $72.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.18 and a 1 year high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 16.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.55.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP Souheil Badran sold 23,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $1,099,509.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 70,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,259,833.64. This trade represents a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.