United States Steel (NYSE:X) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of United States Steel (NYSE:X) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on X. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of United States Steel from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $51.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of United States Steel from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $37.89.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X opened at $40.84 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 2.01. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $20.40 and a twelve month high of $50.20.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 5.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in United States Steel by 178.8% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 5,461 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 5,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syquant Capital Sas purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,989,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.