United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Short Interest Update

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,210,000 shares, a decline of 49.1% from the January 15th total of 25,940,000 shares. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,312 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 4,817 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth $2,844,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in United States Steel by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 293,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,974,000 after purchasing an additional 18,386 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Up 1.0 %

X traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.93. The stock had a trading volume of 6,453,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,466,857. United States Steel has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $48.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.98.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

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.