U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Short Interest Down 28.9% in September

Key Points

• U.S. Bancorp's short interest decreased by 28.9% in September, from 22,010,000 shares to 15,660,000 shares, indicating reduced bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• Insider transactions revealed that Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares for over $6.5 million, while EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares, indicating a total decrease in their holdings.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, up from $0.50, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 15,660,000 shares, a decline of 28.9% from the September 15th total of 22,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 9,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total value of $1,260,955.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 143,269,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,482,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038,996 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,632,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,650,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,890 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $971,285,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 19,907,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $773,268,000 after purchasing an additional 422,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 29.8% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 19,331,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $874,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442,623 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.55.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

U.S. Bancorp stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.84. The stock had a trading volume of 12,059,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,445,836. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $74.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.06. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $35.18 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.97.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.89%.U.S. Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

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.

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