United States Steel (NYSE:X) Stock Price Down 3.1%

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s share price traded down 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $34.78 and last traded at $35.24. 2,426,943 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 4,478,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on X shares. Glj Research raised United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.76.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 1.88.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The company’s revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth $200,952,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in United States Steel by 4,305.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,634,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551,870 shares in the last quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,529,000. KGH Ltd raised its stake in United States Steel by 68.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,839,000 after buying an additional 1,724,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,338,000. 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.