JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) to “Neutral”

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $67.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $65.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.99% from the stock’s previous close.

USB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CLSA set a $67.50 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $63.69 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.22. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $43.46 and a 1-year high of $64.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $98.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.The company had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USB. Inceptionr LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 424.4% in the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 27,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 22,348 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,690,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,462,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 30,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 21,907 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 285,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,218,000 after buying an additional 42,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $2,856,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about U.S. Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting U.S. Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) from in-line to outperform and set a $72 price target, pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. The Fly article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised U.S. Bancorp (USB) from underweight to neutral and increased its price target to $67.50, citing growth in fee revenue. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted U.S. Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compared USB’s year-to-date performance with other financial stocks, suggesting the stock has been performing solidly relative to peers, but these pieces were mostly informational rather than clearly market-moving. MSN article

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.