United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.32.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on X shares. Bank of America began coverage on United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of X. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 45.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United States Steel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United States Steel Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of X opened at $38.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. United States Steel has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $44.87.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

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.