United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.70.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on X. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,731,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,712,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,795,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,620,000. Finally, NWI Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,946,000. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X opened at $40.24 on Tuesday. United States Steel has a 12-month low of $26.92 and a 12-month high of $43.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued 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 net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

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.