BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for United States Steel (NYSE:X) Stock Price

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Down 0.4 %

United States Steel stock opened at $40.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $26.92 and a twelve month high of $43.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.77.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced 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 return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. As a group, analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at about $554,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Wexford Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 193.7% during the fourth quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 443,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,090,000 after buying an additional 292,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.