U.S. Bancorp (USB) Competitors

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Does the media favor USB or WFC?

In the previous week, Wells Fargo & Company had 89 more articles in the media than U.S. Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 118 mentions for Wells Fargo & Company and 29 mentions for U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.31 beat Wells Fargo & Company's score of 0.96 indicating that U.S. Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
U.S. Bancorp	20 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Wells Fargo & Company	55 Very Positive mention(s)	43 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	8 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend USB or WFC?

U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $50.72, indicating a potential upside of 9.16%. Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus target price of $77.98, indicating a potential downside of 4.23%. Given U.S. Bancorp's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than Wells Fargo & Company.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Wells Fargo & Company	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Which has more risk & volatility, USB or WFC?

U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Wells Fargo & Company has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, USB or WFC?

Wells Fargo & Company has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wells Fargo & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Bancorp	$42.71B	1.69	$6.30B	$4.04	11.50
Wells Fargo & Company	$125.40B	2.11	$19.72B	$5.57	14.62

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in USB or WFC?

77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is USB or WFC a better dividend stock?

U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Wells Fargo & Company pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. U.S. Bancorp pays out 49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Wells Fargo & Company pays out 28.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. U.S. Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Wells Fargo & Company has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. U.S. Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is USB or WFC more profitable?

Wells Fargo & Company has a net margin of 16.19% compared to U.S. Bancorp's net margin of 15.70%. U.S. Bancorp's return on equity of 13.02% beat Wells Fargo & Company's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Bancorp	15.70%	13.02%	1.00%
Wells Fargo & Company	16.19%	12.15%	1.03%

Summary

Wells Fargo & Company beats U.S. Bancorp on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.