United States Steel Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 159,676 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 112% compared to the typical daily volume of 75,327 call options.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X opened at $42.42 on Thursday. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $26.92 and a twelve month high of $44.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.34.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. As a group, research analysts expect that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United States Steel by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,558,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $698,791,000 after purchasing an additional 186,994 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,291,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $315,790,000 after purchasing an additional 929,762 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in United States Steel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,788,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,747,000 after buying an additional 68,230 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in United States Steel by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,773,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,242,000 after buying an additional 174,394 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,862,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,313,000 after buying an additional 22,380 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

X has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.32.

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.