United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading Down 6.8% – What’s Next?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s share price was down 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $36.94 and last traded at $37.30. Approximately 3,962,570 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 4,384,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on X. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Glj Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

United States Steel Stock Down 3.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.09 and its 200 day moving average is $37.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.67.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. United States Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th 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 Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of X. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in United States Steel in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,571,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in United States Steel by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 646.0% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 506,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,902,000 after purchasing an additional 438,771 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in United States Steel during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,712,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in United States Steel by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. 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.