Morgan Stanley Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for United States Steel (NYSE:X)

United States Steel (NYSE:X)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $39.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.60% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United States Steel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of United States Steel stock opened at $36.93 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.86. United States Steel has a 12 month low of $26.92 and a 12 month high of $48.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in United States Steel by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 5,035 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in United States Steel by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in United States Steel by 149.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in United States Steel by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 624,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,210,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in United States Steel by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 477,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,214,000 after purchasing an additional 99,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.