United States Steel (NYSE:X) Given New $55.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $39.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Glj Research lowered United States Steel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United States Steel has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.80.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of X opened at $53.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.25. The stock has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.82. United States Steel has a 52 week low of $26.92 and a 52 week high of $54.03.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $130,731,000. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $153,192,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 448.9% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,641,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,512 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,795,000. Finally, NWI Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,946,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About United States Steel

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.