United States Steel (NYSE:X) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

United States Steel (NYSE:X) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of (0.53)-($0.49) for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.32).

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.07. 6,149,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,978,659. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.55. United States Steel has a fifty-two week low of $26.92 and a fifty-two week high of $43.35.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released 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 return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.70.

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.