Traders Purchase Large Volume of United States Steel Put Options (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 41,562 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 23% compared to the average daily volume of 33,711 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of X. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,171,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 3,673.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 11,319 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,019 shares during the period. Finally, Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,175,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:X opened at $38.19 on Thursday. United States Steel has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $50.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.01.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 10.61%. Analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 5.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United States Steel from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.38.

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.