Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 300 Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in United States Steel by 5.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 212,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,679,000 after buying an additional 11,715 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in United States Steel by 5.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 260,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,636,000 after acquiring an additional 13,444 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 41.2% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 136,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.78. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50 and a beta of 1.86. United States Steel Co. has a twelve month low of $26.92 and a twelve month high of $50.20.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. United States Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.