United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading 3.5% Higher

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s stock price was up 3.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $36.90 and last traded at $36.83. Approximately 1,295,368 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 3,694,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com started coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised United States Steel from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.13.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.17 and a 200 day moving average of $39.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.12. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of X. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United States Steel by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of United States Steel by 4.0% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in United States Steel by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is owned by 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.