U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Key Points

• Equities research firm Oppenheimer raised its price target on U.S. Bancorp to $74 with an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 32.46% upside from the stock's prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: the MarketBeat consensus target is $61.23 (majority “Buy” ratings: 14 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell), while some firms like JPMorgan cut their target to $58 and set an "underweight"; the stock traded around $55.87.
• U.S. Bancorp reported a quarter that beat estimates with EPS $1.18 vs. $1.14 and revenue of $7.32B, but insiders have recently sold shares and now own just 0.21% of the stock.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $73.00 to $74.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective points to a potential upside of 32.46% from the company's previous close.

USB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Argus increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.23.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,041,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,669,271. The stock has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $61.19.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 18.01%.The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Mark G. Runkel sold 32,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.65, for a total transaction of $1,952,626.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 97,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,927,203.20. This trade represents a 24.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,813,307. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the third quarter worth $25,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About U.S. Bancorp

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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