United States Steel (NYSE:X) Updates Q1 Earnings Guidance

United States Steel (NYSE:X) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of (0.53)-($0.49) for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of ($0.32).

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE X traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.07. 6,149,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,978,659. United States Steel has a 52 week low of $26.92 and a 52 week high of $43.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on X shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.70.

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.