Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Free Report) by 30.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 518,078 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 226,887 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of United States Steel worth $18,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in United States Steel in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in United States Steel by 339.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Glj Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $38.57 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.80.

United States Steel Stock Performance

X traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.37. 4,298,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,410,792. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $26.92 and a 52-week high of $50.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 1.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.79.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business's revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.