United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.07.

X has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of X. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new stake in United States Steel during the third quarter valued at $91,712,000. KGH Ltd increased its position in United States Steel by 68.2% during the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724,670 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in United States Steel during the third quarter valued at $51,620,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in United States Steel by 26.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 964,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in United States Steel by 4,445.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 571,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,185,000 after acquiring an additional 558,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE X opened at $37.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. United States Steel has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $48.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.45 and its 200 day moving average is $37.12.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. United States Steel’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 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.