Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Sell Recommendation On Shares Of U.s. Bancorp

-- CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

After reviewing Q1 earnings and accounting for a recently improved economic outlook, we increase our 12-month target price by $1 to $41, 7.3x our 2027 EPS estimate, a discount to the peer average of 10.4x given weaker growth prospects. We raise our 2026 EPS view by $0.17 to $5.08 and 2027's by $0.23 to $5.58. We believe other banks offer better risk-reward opportunities than USB. USB's net interest margin has plateaued at 2.77% in Q1, a disappointing outcome given the margin recovery that appeared underway in the second half of 2025. The bank still has significant ground to recover, as its pre-pandemic net interest margin averaged above 3%. We are also concerned about USB's limited capital returns to shareholders. Share buybacks remain modest, and the dividend has increased only 24% since 2019. On a positive note, USB is successfully improving efficiency. The bank delivered 440 bps of positive operating leverage in Q1, with further gains likely ahead given management's strong focus on cost discipline.