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

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.37.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Glj Research raised United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the second quarter worth $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of United States Steel stock opened at $31.97 on Thursday. United States Steel has a 52 week low of $26.92 and a 52 week high of $48.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.83.

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

United States Steel Announces Dividend

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 $0.05 dividend. 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 0.63%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.