Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of United States Steel Put Options (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 58,560 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average daily volume of 39,006 put options.

United States Steel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE X traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,576,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,360,750. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.87. United States Steel has a fifty-two week low of $26.92 and a fifty-two week high of $50.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.44 and a 200-day moving average of $37.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The business’s revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United States Steel will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 8.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 4,305.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,634,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551,870 shares during the period. KGH Ltd increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 68.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,839,000 after buying an additional 1,724,670 shares in the last quarter. Murchinson Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 66.5% during the 1st quarter. Murchinson Ltd. now owns 2,100,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,638,000 after buying an additional 838,653 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,770,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United States Steel by 4,445.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 571,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,185,000 after acquiring an additional 558,757 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on X. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.62.

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.