United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.80.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on United States Steel from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Glj Research downgraded United States Steel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th.

United States Steel Stock Up 0.2%

X opened at $54.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. United States Steel has a 12 month low of $26.92 and a 12 month high of $54.91.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 1.69% and a net margin of 0.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in United States Steel by 149.2% during the first quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 411,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,380,000 after purchasing an additional 246,259 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in United States Steel during the first quarter valued at about $4,226,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in United States Steel during the first quarter valued at about $1,013,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in United States Steel by 499.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in United States Steel by 44.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 29,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.