Viking Fund Management LLC Grows Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 128.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, STAR Financial Bank increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% in the second quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on USB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE USB traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.26. The stock had a trading volume of 8,809,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,241,369. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $47.31. The firm has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

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.