United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading 3.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) shares shot up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.60 and last traded at $42.73. 3,162,966 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 4,950,606 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on X shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United States Steel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Trading Up 0.1 %

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 company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.03.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United States Steel by 4.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 31,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in United States Steel by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,600,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,883,000 after acquiring an additional 28,293 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of United States Steel by 36.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 125.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 60.6% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 7,460 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.