Analysts Set United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) Target Price at $39.82

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.82.

Several research firms have recently commented on X. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of X. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $130,731,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter worth about $91,712,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $50,795,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter worth about $51,620,000. Finally, NWI Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,946,000. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company's stock.

United States Steel Price Performance

NYSE:X traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.42. 5,491,066 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,718,949. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $48.13. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.92.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

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.