Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on United States Steel (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 170,923 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 168% compared to the average volume of 63,775 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America started coverage on United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. 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 dropped their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.82.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 3.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 2nd quarter worth about $491,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $824,000. Finally, Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 47.4% in the third quarter. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of X stock opened at $36.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.09 and a 200-day moving average of $37.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. United States Steel has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $48.13.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.