Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 226,887 Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 518,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 226,887 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $18,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in X. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in United States Steel by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of United States Steel by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Founders Capital Management lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in United States Steel by 0.7% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 44,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in United States Steel by 1.7% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 18,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of X stock opened at $31.00 on Friday. United States Steel Co. has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $48.95. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.56 and a 200-day moving average of $37.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Glj Research raised United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.37.

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.