Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on United States Steel (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 58,560 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average daily volume of 39,006 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on X shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised 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 note on Friday, September 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 4.0% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in United States Steel by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 54,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.6% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 280,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after buying an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 14.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X opened at $39.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.87. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $26.92 and a twelve month high of $50.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.48 and a 200 day moving average of $37.71.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.