United States Steel (NYSE:X) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of United States Steel (NYSE:X - Free Report) in a research report report published on Monday morning. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $35.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Glj Research raised shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Up 8.4 %

NYSE X traded up $2.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.04. 14,467,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,312,078. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.34. United States Steel has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $48.85. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The business's revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United States Steel will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United States Steel by 1.9% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 29,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 62,938 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,379,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 539.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,399 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 11,304 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the second quarter valued at about $213,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Company 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.