United States Steel Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 101,458 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average volume of 71,636 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.70.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X opened at $41.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.40 and its 200-day moving average is $36.68. United States Steel has a fifty-two week low of $26.92 and a fifty-two week high of $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Equities analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

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.