United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $32.60, but opened at $30.35. United States Steel shares last traded at $30.42, with a volume of 6,855,722 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

X has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.37.

United States Steel Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.78 and a 200-day moving average of $37.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.88.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in United States Steel in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.