While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a closer look at particularly stock-shaking upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.
What: Shares of U.S. Bancorp (USB -1.49%) climbed nearly 1% this morning after Goldman Sachs upgraded the banking giant from Neutral to Conviction Buy.
So what: Along with the upgrade, analyst Richard Ramsden raised his price target to $44 (from $40), representing about 14% worth of upside to yesterday's close. While value investors might be turned off by U.S. Bancorp's steady share-price climb in 2013, Ramsden believes the stock remains attractively valued relative to other banks.
Now what: Goldman sees plenty of positive catalysts for the bank going forward. "We expect USB's revenue growth to reaccelerate in 2014, and when it does we expect it can recapture its premium multiple," noted Goldman. "Additionally, we expect USB to be one of the best-performing banks on the 2014 CCAR, which could prove a catalyst when results are released in March." With U.S. Bancorp shares sporting an industry-lagging P/E of 13 and an industry-topping dividend yield of 2.4%, it's tough to disagree with Goldman's conviction call.
