United States Steel (NYSE:X) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel (NYSE:X) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $35.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

United States Steel stock opened at $32.74 on Monday. United States Steel has a fifty-two week low of $26.92 and a fifty-two week high of $48.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.26. 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 cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 1.88.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in United States Steel by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.