Hantz Financial Services Inc. Reduces Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:USB opened at $53.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.67 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’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 fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

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.