United States Steel (NYSE:X) Price Target Lowered to $41.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $41.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on X. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United States Steel from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $39.67.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE X opened at $31.27 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $50.20. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 1.88.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 436.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 214,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,426,000 after buying an additional 174,350 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC raised its position in United States Steel by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 5,500,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,575,000 after acquiring an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,408,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of United States Steel by 94.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 102,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. 81.92% of the stock is 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.