U.S. Steel (X) Upgraded to “Buy” by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has $41.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

According to Zacks, “U.S. Steel’s adjusted earnings and sales for the first quarter beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. U.S. Steel has outperformed the industry it belongs to over the past six months. The company is actively engaged in improving its cost structure and operations through the Carnegie Way initiative that are expected to deliver meaningful benefits in 2018. U.S. Steel should also gain from healthy automotive demand and actions to expand its foothold in this key market. U.S. Steel also remains committed to deleverage its balance sheet.”

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X has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America cut shares of U.S. Steel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. Cowen reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Steel from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase increased their price target on shares of U.S. Steel from $48.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, March 9th. UBS reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Steel from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 11th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of U.S. Steel in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $40.36.

U.S. Steel opened at $36.46 on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 3.01. U.S. Steel has a 1-year low of $19.20 and a 1-year high of $47.64.

U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. U.S. Steel had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.83) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Steel will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 9th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. U.S. Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.31%.

In related news, Director Paul Anthony Mascarenas sold 3,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total transaction of $135,590.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Bradley acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.99 per share, for a total transaction of $799,800.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,847 shares of company stock worth $1,084,057. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Steel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 361,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,717,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Elkfork Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $540,000. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Steel by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 752,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,471,000 after purchasing an additional 49,542 shares during the period. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Finally, Chemical Bank acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.74% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Steel Company Profile

United States Steel Corporation produces and sells flat-rolled and tubular steel products primarily in North America and Europe. It operates through three segments: Flat-Rolled Products (Flat-Rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products.

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