Investors Buy High Volume of U.S. Bancorp Call Options (NYSE:USB)

Key Points

• U.S. Bancorp saw unusually heavy call option trading on Thursday, with investors buying 14,126 call options — about 74% above the average daily volume.
• Several insiders recently sold shares, including Jodi L. Richard and EVP Venkatachari Dilip, while institutional ownership remains high at 77.6% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.29; the stock also recently traded near $61.22 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and announcing a $0.52 quarterly dividend.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 14,126 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 74% compared to the average daily volume of 8,101 call options.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,813,307. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,887,497,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,556,000 after purchasing an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $296,377,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3,451.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,332,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210,676 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,919,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,329,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stephens began coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.29.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.22. 2,580,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,174,158. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $94.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.97. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $43.46 and a 1 year high of $61.88.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $7.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 18.01%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 43.61%.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp NYSE: USB is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

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