United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $32.60, but opened at $30.35. United States Steel shares last traded at $30.42, with a volume of 6,855,722 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on X. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Glj Research upgraded United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.37.

United States Steel Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its stake in United States Steel by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,719,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $166,752,000 after acquiring an additional 326,876 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 26.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,598,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,477,000 after purchasing an additional 964,467 shares during the period. KGH Ltd increased its stake in United States Steel by 68.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,670 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $135,691,000 after buying an additional 37,528 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. boosted its stake in United States Steel by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,667,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,848,000 after buying an additional 316,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.