United States Steel (NYSE:X) Price Target Raised to $49.00 at Morgan Stanley

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised United States Steel from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.13.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.93. 758,011 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,670,505. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $29.84 and a twelve month high of $50.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.57. The firm has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.93.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.12. United States Steel had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 3.40%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United States Steel will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 1,140.0% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in United States Steel in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.