United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Up to $24.52

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.52, but opened at $25.16. United States Steel shares last traded at $24.94, with a volume of 2,099,276 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on X shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United States Steel from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of United States Steel from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of United States Steel from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.29.

United States Steel Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 2.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.71.

United States Steel (NYSE:X – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.27. United States Steel had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 26.75%. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.23%.

Insider Transactions at United States Steel

In other news, SVP Richard Fruehauf sold 37,500 shares of United States Steel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total transaction of $1,176,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,579.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard Fruehauf sold 37,500 shares of United States Steel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total value of $1,176,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 57,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,579.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth E. Jaycox sold 6,090 shares of United States Steel stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $182,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 79,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,389,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. Bornite Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 300.0% in the first quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 400,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,096,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel in the first quarter valued at about $455,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel in the first quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 6.0% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 151,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 8,560 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 9.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 60,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after acquiring an additional 5,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.02% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Company Profile

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United States Steel Corp. engages in the manufacturing and selling of steel products. It operates through the following business segments: Flat-Rolled Products, Mini Mill, U.S. Steel Europe, and Tubular Products. The Flat-Rolled Products segment includes managing steel plants and production facilities that manufacture steel slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, tin mill, iron ore, and coke.