ING Groep NV Sells 755,300 Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Free Report) by 73.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 278,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 755,300 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned 0.12% of United States Steel worth $9,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Water Island Capital LLC raised its stake in United States Steel by 5.3% in the second quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 906,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,250,000 after purchasing an additional 45,567 shares in the last quarter. KGH Ltd increased its holdings in United States Steel by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $160,839,000 after buying an additional 1,724,670 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of United States Steel by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,940 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 13,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,601,000 after acquiring an additional 102,450 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of United States Steel by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 26,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 15,450 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United States Steel Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE X traded down $0.66 on Friday, hitting $35.72. 9,936,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,436,920. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.22 and a 200-day moving average of $37.79. United States Steel Co. has a 12 month low of $26.92 and a 12 month high of $50.20.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. United States Steel's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company 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 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.80.

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.