United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $43.40 and last traded at $43.24, with a volume of 301414 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on X. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on United States Steel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United States Steel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.07. 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 posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at $130,731,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter worth $91,712,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,795,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter valued at about $51,620,000. Finally, NWI Management LP bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,946,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.