U.S. Bancorp (USB) Competitors

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, media sentiment, community ranking, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Does the media prefer WFC or USB?

In the previous week, Wells Fargo & Company had 152 more articles in the media than U.S. Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 187 mentions for Wells Fargo & Company and 35 mentions for U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Wells Fargo & Company's score of 0.71 indicating that U.S. Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Wells Fargo & Company	77 Very Positive mention(s)	58 Positive mention(s)	33 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
U.S. Bancorp	20 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is WFC or USB more profitable?

Wells Fargo & Company has a net margin of 15.73% compared to U.S. Bancorp's net margin of 14.75%. U.S. Bancorp's return on equity of 12.94% beat Wells Fargo & Company's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wells Fargo & Company	15.73%	12.38%	1.04%
U.S. Bancorp	14.75%	12.94%	0.97%

Is WFC or USB a better dividend stock?

Wells Fargo & Company pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Wells Fargo & Company pays out 28.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. U.S. Bancorp pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. U.S. Bancorp has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. U.S. Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of WFC or USB?

75.9% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Wells Fargo & Company shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer WFC or USB?

Wells Fargo & Company received 835 more outperform votes than U.S. Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.54% of users gave Wells Fargo & Company an outperform vote while only 57.72% of users gave U.S. Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Wells Fargo & Company	Outperform Votes 1624 61.54%	Underperform Votes 1015 38.46%
U.S. Bancorp	Outperform Votes 789 57.72%	Underperform Votes 578 42.28%

Which has more volatility & risk, WFC or USB?

Wells Fargo & Company has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate WFC or USB?

Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus target price of $75.34, suggesting a potential upside of 16.66%. U.S. Bancorp has a consensus target price of $52.52, suggesting a potential upside of 36.00%. Given U.S. Bancorp's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than Wells Fargo & Company.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wells Fargo & Company	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74
U.S. Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.52

Which has better earnings & valuation, WFC or USB?

Wells Fargo & Company has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wells Fargo & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wells Fargo & Company	$81.58B	2.58	$19.72B	$5.57	11.59
U.S. Bancorp	$27.34B	2.20	$6.30B	$3.79	10.19

Summary

Wells Fargo & Company beats U.S. Bancorp on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.