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

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 58,560 put options on the company. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,006 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on X shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report 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 report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BNP Paribas raised United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.62.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:X traded up $1.01 on Tuesday, hitting $39.44. 5,576,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,360,750. United States Steel has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $50.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.87.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that United States Steel will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palliser Capital UK Ltd lifted its stake in United States Steel by 112.1% in the 3rd quarter. Palliser Capital UK Ltd now owns 332,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,733,000 after buying an additional 175,500 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth $269,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of United States Steel by 40.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in United States Steel by 7.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in United States Steel by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 26,036 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 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.

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