United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading Down 4.7%

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) was down 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $36.40 and last traded at $36.43. Approximately 2,153,881 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 4,548,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.62.

United States Steel Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.35.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.12. United States Steel had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 3.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 5.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of X. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 4,305.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,634,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $137,379,000 after buying an additional 3,551,870 shares during the period. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $95,529,000. KGH Ltd increased its holdings in United States Steel by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724,670 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,338,000. Finally, Murchinson Ltd. lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 66.5% during the first quarter. Murchinson Ltd. now owns 2,100,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,638,000 after purchasing an additional 838,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.