United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 7,288,904 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the previous session's volume of 11,919,654 shares.The stock last traded at $36.66 and had previously closed at $34.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on X shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 1.88. 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 (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 326,876 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 26.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,598,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $162,477,000 after purchasing an additional 964,467 shares in the last quarter. KGH Ltd increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 68.2% during the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $160,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,670 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,839,684 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $135,691,000 after purchasing an additional 37,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 13.5% during the second quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,667,932 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,848,000 after purchasing an additional 316,800 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.