Sell-Side Estimates iof $1.07 n Focus for U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

As the next earnings season comes into focus, investors will be watching to see which companies surpass expectations. Many investors consider earnings performance to be one of the most important factors when deciding which stocks to choose. When quarterly earnings numbers are released, the investing community closely watches to see if a company beats or misses projections. Tracking some earnings projections, we note that the current quarter EPS consensus estimate for U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) is 1.07. This EPS estimate is using data provided by 9 sell-side analysts polled by Zacks Research. For the last quarter, the company reported a quarterly EPS of 1. Because earnings surprises may cause the stock price to rise or fall drastically in the short term, investors may choose to make the buy/sell decisions after the smoke has cleared.

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In the fast paced world of stock market investing, individuals are always looking for information to help provide an edge. Many investors will study sell-side analyst opinions to help assist with navigating the market. Turning the attention to shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), we can see that the current average broker rating is now 2.75. This rating is provided by Zacks Research using a scale from 1 to 5. Following this scale, a 1 would indicate a Strong Buy and a 5 would represent a Strong Sell rating. Digging a little deeper, we can see that out of the polled analysts, 4 rated the stock a Strong Buy or Buy. This average broker rating may help investors decide if they feel the same way about the stock as the professionals.

Investors might be trying to gauge which way shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) will swing over the next couple of quarters. In recent trading activity, the stock has been seen near the $51.84 level. Many investors pay increased attention to shares when they are nearing notable historical highs or lows. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has touched a high price of 55.35, and seen a low price of 43.76. Looking at some additional historical stock price information, we note that shares have seen a move 1.33% over the previous 12 weeks. If we pull in closer to look at performance over the past month, we see that shares have seen a change of 7.91%. Over the last 5 trading sessions, the stock has moved 1.23%. Investors will most likely be keeping their eyes peeled to see how the stock performs heading into the next round of earnings reports.

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