U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group upgraded U.S. Bancorp from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $75 from $60, implying about 21.6% upside from the prior close.
• The stock has a mixed analyst backdrop overall, but the consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $62.95 across MarketBeat-tracked analysts.
• U.S. Bancorp recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.18 per share and revenue of $7.32 billion, both slightly above estimates.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $75.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $60.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 21.61% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.95.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $61.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business's 50-day moving average is $56.57 and its 200-day moving average is $55.51. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $43.46 and a 1 year high of $62.38.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 18.01%.The business had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,376,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,810,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,701,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,755,083,000 after purchasing an additional 522,368 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,679,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,518,000 after purchasing an additional 443,646 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $1,887,497,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,556,000 after purchasing an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. 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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