United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $40.00. The stock had previously closed at $31.72, but opened at $30.20. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. United States Steel shares last traded at $30.86, with a volume of 690,222 shares traded.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on 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 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in United States Steel by 646.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 506,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,902,000 after purchasing an additional 438,771 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United States Steel by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,839,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,691,000 after acquiring an additional 37,528 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United States Steel by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,600,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,883,000 after acquiring an additional 28,293 shares in the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 906,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,250,000 after acquiring an additional 45,567 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Stock Down 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.88 and a 200 day moving average of $37.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.83.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.