U.S. Bancorp Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:USB)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 23,500 call options on the company. This is an increase of 119% compared to the average daily volume of 10,735 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.50 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Cowen began coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $559,800. This represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 28,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 325,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,724,000 after buying an additional 78,146 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,836,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,640,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,056 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,158,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,427,000 after acquiring an additional 312,504 shares during the period. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 560,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,069,000 after acquiring an additional 8,204 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.73. 7,036,266 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,331,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.54 and its 200-day moving average is $44.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $35.18 and a one year high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

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.