United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 75,880 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the typical volume of 47,738 call options.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisor Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United States Steel during the first quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in United States Steel by 12.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,509,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,957,000 after buying an additional 172,300 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel during the second quarter worth $513,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in United States Steel by 195.1% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,456,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623,882 shares in the last quarter. 79.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently commented on X. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of United States Steel from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 6th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on shares of United States Steel from $44.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of United States Steel to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of United States Steel from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United States Steel presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.19.
United States Steel Price Performance
United States Steel stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.61. 172,913 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,912,493. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.27. United States Steel has a 52-week low of $16.41 and a 52-week high of $39.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.15.
United States Steel (NYSE:X – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.82 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 21.59% and a return on equity of 49.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 9.83 earnings per share for the current year.
United States Steel Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 8th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 5th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is currently 1.17%.
United States Steel declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 28th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
United States Steel Company Profile
United States Steel Corporation produces and sells flat-rolled and tubular steel products primarily in North America and Europe. It operates through four segments: North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke.