United States Steel (NYSE:X) Stock Price Up 6.9% – Here’s What Happened

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s stock price traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.63 and last traded at $40.94. 2,313,589 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 5,190,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America began coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.79.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,558,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $698,791,000 after purchasing an additional 186,994 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,291,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $315,790,000 after buying an additional 929,762 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,788,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,747,000 after buying an additional 68,230 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in United States Steel by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,773,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,242,000 after acquiring an additional 174,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United States Steel by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,862,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,313,000 after acquiring an additional 22,380 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.