United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.00, but opened at $40.06. United States Steel shares last traded at $40.12, with a volume of 5,177,370 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on X. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.70.

United States Steel Trading Up 4.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) 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 anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

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.