Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $3.02 Million Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 9.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,524 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE USB opened at $53.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $83.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $37.67 and a 52 week high of $53.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.44.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on USB. DA Davidson lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.02.

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.