United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Down 4.3%

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) shares were down 4.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.93 and last traded at $39.99. Approximately 4,868,884 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 3,679,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised United States Steel from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.13.

United States Steel Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.42.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of X. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United States Steel by 1,140.0% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in United States Steel during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.