United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.89.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of United States Steel from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $51.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 29,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in United States Steel by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 32,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in United States Steel by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X opened at $38.63 on Friday. United States Steel has a 12-month low of $20.40 and a 12-month high of $50.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.17.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 5.70%.

United States Steel Company Profile

United States Steel Corporation produces and sells flat-rolled and tubular steel products primarily in North America and Europe. The company operates through North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular) segments. The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke.