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

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.80.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on X shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Glj Research raised United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 target price on the stock 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in United States Steel by 7.4% in the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,719,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $166,752,000 after purchasing an additional 326,876 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of United States Steel by 26.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,598,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,477,000 after buying an additional 964,467 shares during the period. KGH Ltd lifted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 68.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724,670 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 13.5% in the second quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,667,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,848,000 after acquiring an additional 316,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United States Steel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,600,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,883,000 after purchasing an additional 28,293 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Performance

X opened at $40.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.78. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $50.20.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

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.