U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• U.S. Bancorp experienced a dramatic increase in short interest of 2,341.3% in July, reaching a total of 20,290,000 shares as of July 15th, compared to only 831,100 shares on June 30th.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.11, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.07 and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.0%.
• U.S. Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, translating to an annual yield of 4.6% and a payout ratio of 47.85%.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,290,000 shares, agrowthof2,341.3% from the June 30th total of 831,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on USB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped 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, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial raised U.S. Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.55.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.41. 2,449,675 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,828,090. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.01. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.01.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.30% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 47.85%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP Souheil Badran sold 23,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $1,099,509.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 70,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,259,833.64. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FIL Ltd increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 28,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 8,542 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $13,724,000 after purchasing an additional 78,146 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 49,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 8,796 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.