United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.95, but opened at $38.62. United States Steel shares last traded at $37.75, with a volume of 3,585,706 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

X has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 objective for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United States Steel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

United States Steel Trading Down 8.4 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in United States Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 339.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in United States Steel in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.