United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading Up 6.5% – Should You Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) traded up 6.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.43 and last traded at $41.43. 2,991,244 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 4,434,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

X has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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 lowered their target price on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Glj Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.80.

United States Steel Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.85. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 1.86. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United States Steel by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,921 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 1.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 136,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 15,450 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in United States Steel by 97.7% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 423,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,281,000 after purchasing an additional 209,450 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC raised its position in United States Steel by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 125,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,098,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.