United States Steel’s (X) Hold Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their hold rating on shares of United States Steel (NYSE:X) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $50.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on X. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.37.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of United States Steel stock opened at $53.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 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 $54.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.82.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.04). United States Steel had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. United States Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of X. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in United States Steel by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 643.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.