US Bank (fka NYSE)

[LexL]

lol remember what happen last time the day before the fed talked. This time they look to be taking a very agressive stance

[OptionMonster]

Look at her go...SHORT!

[OptionMonster]

On to the next train..I will be back when the time is right!

[LexL]

lol your in time out for now!! no cookie for you

god i hope i didnt just jinx myself.....

[OptionMonster]

Great investment..Now bring it down so I can play some more!

[OptionMonster]

I know..Patience is a virtue...

[LexL]

COVERAGE REITERATED: US Bancorp (USB) reiterated by RBC Capital Mkts. Reiterated rating Outperform.

[LexL]

mwahahahaha

btw dog said look at the L2 for the options, there is about 4k sitting on the bid and only about 20 on the ask.

[LexL]

Ok I will... Oppssss


Rating reiterations for Jan. 16 from Briefing.com:

Company Symbol Brokerage Firm Reiterations

Air Tran Holdings AAI Lehman Brothers Overweight
Alaska Air ALK Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
Alvarion ALVR Collins Stewart Buy
AMR Corp AMR Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
Aradigm ARDM Punk, Ziegel & Co Buy
Blue Coat BCSI Wedbush Morgan Buy
Broadcom BRCM UBS Buy
California Pizza CPKI Friedman Billings Outperform
Cinemark CNK Wedbush Morgan Buy
Citigroup C Lehman Brothers Overweight
Citigroup C UBS Neutral
Commerce Bancshares CBSH Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
Continental Air CAL Lehman Brothers Underweight
Covidien COV Lehman Brothers Overweight
Delta Air Lines DAL Lehman Brothers Overweight
Dick's Sporting Goods DKS Wedbush Morgan Buy
Dreamworks Animation DWA Wedbush Morgan Hold
ExlService EXLS Friedman Billings Underperform
F5 Networks FFIV Wedbush Morgan Hold
Forest Labs FRX Lehman Brothers Overweight
Forest Labs FRX Roth Capital Buy
Foundry Ntwks FDRY Jefferies & Co Buy
Fundtech FNDT Wedbush Morgan Buy
GSI Commerce GSIC Lazard Capital Buy
ICICI Bank IBN Jefferies & Co Buy
Intel INTC AmTech Research Buy
Intel INTC Caris & Co Above Average
Intel INTC Stifel Nicolaus Buy
Intel INTC UBS Buy
Jack Henry JKHY Wedbush Morgan Buy
Jetblue Airways JBLU Lehman Brothers Overweight
Lamar Advertising LAMR Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
Liberty Media LINTA Janco Partners Mkt Perform
Macatawa Bank Corp CBC RBC Capital Markets Underperform
Marchex MCHX RBC Capital Markets Sector Perform
Marshall & Ilsley MI Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
Marshall & Ilsley MI RBC Capital Markets Sector Perform
Massey Energy MEE Friedman Billings Underperform
Matria Healthcare MATR Friedman Billings Outperform
Matria Healthcare MATR JMP Securities Mkt Outperform
Matria Healthcare MATR Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
New Oriental Edu & Tec EDU Brean Murray Buy
NitroMed NTMD Friedman Billings Mkt Perform
Northwest Airlines NWA Lehman Brothers Equal-Weight
NuVasive NUVA Lehman Brothers Overweight
PetMed Express PETS Wedbush Morgan Hold
PFF Bancorp PFB Friedman Billings Mkt Perform
Plantronics PLT Wedbush Morgan Hold
POZEN POZN Morgan Joseph Buy
Quiksilver ZQK Caris & Co Average
Quiksilver ZQK Wedbush Morgan Hold
Radiant Systems RADS Wedbush Morgan Buy
RemoteMDx RMDX BWS Financial Buy
Ritchie Bros. RBA RBC Capital Markets

US Airways LCC Lehman Brothers Overweight
US Bancorp USB BMO Capital Markets Market Perform
US Bancorp USB RBC Capital Markets Outperform
Zoran ZRAN Wedbush Morgan Buy

[OptionMonster]

Make it go down Lex!! lol

[OptionMonster]

This puppy needs to come back under $30 so we can go for another ride!

[OptionMonster]

Nice Pop!! Imagine if the market opened green!

[OptionMonster]

I would think so...lol..Market is UGLY yet again this morning..We need an UPGRADE NOW!

[LexL]

just wait till the buy back has happen and they up their EPS big time.

[analogdog]

They don't need to dilute with foreign money influx at pennies on the dollar.... that is, they are not desperate for cash liquidity... they have enough to give shareholders MORE in the dividend. Citibank cut theirs by 41%.

[LexL]

Got to love the fact that they are doing so great that they can do a share buy back at the end of Q1.

[analogdog]

Cramer's on.

[analogdog]

It's like they were the only ones that were right.... next to GS
... which has already been priced closer to value than USB. Good percentage gains possible here... maybe more institutions, that offer porfolio schemes for all the corporate retirement accounts, will shift the assets designated for the finance sector to a winner like USB.

[analogdog]

uhhh? "outperformance"? That's good , right?

[OptionMonster]

I nicknamed this one "Titan" what a company..This is how old fashioned banking is done!

[OptionMonster]

This is my favorite part: Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst Lori B. Appelbaum called the results "very favorable" and said the bank's fourth quarter performance "underscores its defensive credit risk profile while the company is starting to benefit from Fed easings. We expect continued outperformance as a result."

[OptionMonster]

I thought that was you! A tad disappointed you just did not go for the whole $30M!

[OptionMonster]

There ya go...Have fun reading! http://finance.yahoo.com/q/sec?s=USB

[analogdog]

787,000 share buy after hours at the ask.... hmmmmmmm. Institution? Or just some guy with 27 million dollars to waste?

[analogdog]

DOW down 300, up 150, down 300 today. 4 days white candles for USB .... nuff said.

[analogdog]

U.S. Bancorp Stays The Course
Ruthie Ackerman, 01.15.08, 6:40 PM ET

In this ailing economy if it's not bad news it's good news.

So when U.S. Bancorp's Chief Executive Richard Davis emphasized that although its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 21%, they were impacted by two previously announced items and that without those items the core earnings were “favorable," investors heaved a sigh of relief.

U.S. Bancorp's shares rose 0.3%, or 10 cents, to $30.42 at the close on Tuesday.

Net income slid to $942 million, or 53 cents per share, from $1.19 billion, or 66 cents per share, in the prior year. This included charges of $215 million related to an industry-wide settlement involving the Visa credit card association and $107 million to write down the value of securities in money market funds managed by an affiliate. Those items hurt the bottom line by 13 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecasted a profit of 59 cents per share.

Net interest income was up 4% because of an increase in earning assets. Fee income for services such as payment, trust, and investment management, rose 12% not counting the money market write down. The net interest margin in the fourth-quarter was 3.5% compared with 3.4% in the third quarter. Davis said that a stable margin has a positive impact on net interest income, which is a “critical component of our long-term revenue growth objectives.”

Loans and deposits continued to grow, Davis said. And the company remained “well-capitalized.” This has allowed the company to maintain a strong capital position, he said, allowing it to increase dividends and repurchase common shares.

While others like Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) announced it slashed its dividend by 41% on Tuesday, U.S. Bancorp (nyse: USB - news - people )’s board approved a 6.25% increase in the dividend rate on their common stock in December.

On Tuesday, Citigroup announced $18.1 billion in write-downs for the fourth quarter and a net loss of $9.8 billion. In a bid to shore up its capital, the firm secured $12.5 billion in cash from a collection of investors and slashed its dividend.

The mortgage meltdown and the rapid devaluation of mortgage-backed securities has forced many of Wall Street's stalwarts to launch aggressive global fund-raisers. In addition to Citi, Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) said on Tuesday that it will sell $6.6 billion in stock to the Korea Investment Corp., Kuwait Investment Authority and the Mizuho Financial Group (nyse: MFG - news - people ). (See “ Cuts, Cuts, And More Cuts at Citigroup”)

State Street, the Boston-based financial services company, saw its shares fall 5.9%, or $5.04, to $79.82, at the close on Tuesday after it announced its earnings dropped 27.8% in the fourth quarter, on the back of mortgage losses.

Meanwhile, U.S. Bancorp said the company’s credit quality remained sound. “We will not be immune to the current stress in the residential real estate markets and mortgage-related industries, but given the Company's overall credit risk profile, increases in net charge-offs and nonperforming assets in the coming year will be manageable,” Davis said.

The company reported $690 million in non-performing assets as of the end of the year, up 7.6% from the third quarter, and 17.5% from a year ago. It blamed the rise in bad loans on mortgage-related stress, including construction lending.

Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst Lori B. Appelbaum called the results "very favorable" and said the bank's fourth quarter performance "underscores its defensive credit risk profile while the company is starting to benefit from Fed easings. We expect continued outperformance as a result."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

[analogdog]

U.S. Bancorp's Balancing Act
Ruthie Ackerman, 01.15.2008

U.S. Bancorp's earnings fell, but it seems to have avoided the tidal wave that has engulfed its peers.

On Tuesday the lender announced that its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 21%, but its Chief Executive Richard Davis emphasized that earnings were impacted by two previously announced items and that without those items the core earnings were “favorable” to the prior year’s fourth-quarter.

U.S. Bancorp's shares slipped 0.1%, or 3 cents, to $30.35 in afternoon trading on Tuesday.

Net income slid to $942 million, or 53 cents per share, from $1.19 billion, or 66 cents per share, in the prior year. This included charges of $215 million related to an industry-wide settlement involving the Visa credit card association and $107 million to write down the value of securities in money market funds managed by an affiliate. Those items hurt the bottom line by 13 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecasted a profit of 59 cents per share.

Net interest income was up 4% because of an increase in earning assets. Fee income for services such as payment, trust, and investment management, rose 12% not counting the money market write down. The net interest margin in the fourth-quarter was 3.5% compared with 3.4% in the third quarter. Davis said that a stable margin has a positive impact on net interest income, which is a “critical component of our long-term revenue growth objectives.”

Loans and deposits continued to grow, Davis said. And the company remained “well-capitalized.” This has allowed the company to maintain a strong capital position, he said, allowing it to increase dividends and repurchase common shares.

While others like Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) announced it slashed its dividend by 41% on Tuesday, U.S. Bancorp (nyse: USB - news - people )’s board approved a 6.25% increase in the dividend rate on their common stock in December.

On Tuesday, Citigroup announced $18.1 billion in write-downs for the fourth quarter and a net loss of $9.8 billion. In a bid to shore up its capital, the firm secured $12.5 billion in cash from a collection of investors and slashed its dividend.

The mortgage meltdown and the rapid devaluation of mortgage-backed securities has forced many of Wall Street's stalwarts to launch aggressive global fund-raisers. In addition to Citi, Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) said on Tuesday that it will sell $6.6 billion in stock to the Korea Investment Corp., Kuwait Investment Authority and the Mizuho Financial Group (nyse: MFG - news - people ). (See “ Cuts, Cuts, And More Cuts at Citigroup”)

State Street, the Boston-based financial services company, saw its shares fall 5.9%, or $5.02, to $79.84, in late afternoon trading on Tuesday after it announced its earnings dropped 27.8% in the fourth quarter, on the back of mortgage losses.

Meanwhile, U.S. Bancorp said the company’s credit quality remained sound. “We will not be immune to the current stress in the residential real estate markets and mortgage-related industries, but given the Company's overall credit risk profile, increases in net charge-offs and nonperforming assets in the coming year will be manageable,” Davis said.

The company reported $690 million in non-performing assets as of the end of the year, up 7.6% from the third quarter, and 17.5% from a year ago. It blamed the rise in bad loans on mortgage-related stress, including construction lending.

Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst Lori B. Appelbaum called the results "very favorable" and said the bank's fourth quarter performance "underscores its defensive credit risk profile while the company is starting to benefit from Fed easings. We expect continued outperformance as a result."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.