Aleem Gillani, a director at US Bancorp (USB), recently bought 5,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 50%, and came to a total cost of $186,600.
Gillani was the last insider buyer with a 10,000 share pickup last July, at a slightly higher price than where shares trade today. Going further back, insiders were more likely to be sellers of shares, with a mix of outright sales and the exercise of stock options.
Overall, US Bancorp insiders own 0.1% of shares.
The regional bank is down 7% over the past year, largely as a result of the recent market uncertainty. Operationally, the bank has fared better, with a 4% increase in revenues and a healthy 30% rise in earnings growth.
The bank trades at less than 9 times forward earnings, and just above book value. Plus, the bank sports a healthy 26% profit margin.
Action to take: US Bancorp shares are still in a downtrend right now, so interested investors may want to scale in to take advantage of any market weakness.
Today’s buyers can also get a 5.3% dividend, which US Bancorp has a history of increasing over time.
For traders, the September $42.50 calls, last trading for about $1.75, have a large amount of open volume, could see mid-double-digit returns on a rebound in shares over the coming months.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.