United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)’s stock 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

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Glj Research upgraded United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.37.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.34. 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 company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. United States Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in United States Steel in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of United States Steel by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.