United States Steel (NYSE:X) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel (NYSE:X – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United States Steel from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued an underperform rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on United States Steel from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on United States Steel from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $29.29.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X opened at $23.97 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $16.41 and a 1 year high of $39.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 2.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.71.

United States Steel (NYSE:X – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 26.75% and a net margin of 11.98%. United States Steel’s revenue was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that United States Steel will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 2.23%.

Insider Activity at United States Steel

In other United States Steel news, SVP Kenneth E. Jaycox sold 6,090 shares of United States Steel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $182,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 79,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,389,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Kenneth E. Jaycox sold 6,090 shares of United States Steel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $182,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 79,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,389,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Andrea J. Ayers purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.45 per share, for a total transaction of $31,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,690.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 13,921 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 35,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 90,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 75.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United States Steel Company Profile

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United States Steel Corp. engages in the manufacturing and selling of steel products. It operates through the following business segments: Flat-Rolled Products, Mini Mill, U.S. Steel Europe, and Tubular Products. The Flat-Rolled Products segment includes managing steel plants and production facilities that manufacture steel slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, tin mill, iron ore, and coke.