U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

USB has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.50 price objective (down from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down from $57.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.67.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:USB traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.76. 7,647,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,070,851. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $41.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.40. The company has a market cap of $69.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,800. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 28,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,836,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,640,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,056 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,158,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,427,000 after acquiring an additional 312,504 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 380,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,212,000 after acquiring an additional 38,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $369,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.