United States Steel (NYSE:X) Trading Down 6.8% – Here’s What Happened

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s stock price traded down 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $36.94 and last traded at $37.30. 3,962,570 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 4,384,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Glj Research upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.80.

United States Steel Stock Down 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.80.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. United States Steel’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter worth about $1,571,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in United States Steel by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of United States Steel by 646.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 506,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,902,000 after purchasing an additional 438,771 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,712,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 1.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.