U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Short Interest Update

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,840,000 shares, a drop of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 23,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Compass Point raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total transaction of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares in the company, valued at $6,837,573.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total value of $1,152,904.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 144,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,255,515.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of U.S. Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE USB traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,648,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,657,484. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.34 and a 200 day moving average of $40.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $27.27 and a twelve month high of $45.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.90%.

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.