United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $40.00. The stock had previously closed at $31.72, but opened at $30.20. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. United States Steel shares last traded at $30.86, with a volume of 690,222 shares changing hands.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Glj Research raised United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.37.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in X. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 339.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Stock Down 5.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.88 and its 200 day moving average is $37.73.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

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.