Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United States Steel (NYSE:X) Stock

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its target price increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.60% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on X. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE X opened at $36.26 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.59 and a 200-day moving average of $36.67. United States Steel has a 52-week low of $26.92 and a 52-week high of $47.79.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of X. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 40.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter valued at about $269,000. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 6.7% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 14,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 9.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 88.6% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 13,594 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.