AlphaQuest LLC Sells 20,470 Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 75.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,470 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 26.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,598,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,477,000 after purchasing an additional 964,467 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United States Steel by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,839,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $135,691,000 after acquiring an additional 37,528 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in United States Steel by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,635,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $89,588,000 after acquiring an additional 35,007 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in United States Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,712,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter valued at $51,620,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on X shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United States Steel presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.70.

United States Steel Stock Performance

X opened at $38.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.65. United States Steel Co. has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $43.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

United States Steel 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.