United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $54.24 and last traded at $53.05, with a volume of 9654437 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on X. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United States Steel has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

United States Steel Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.87.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 68.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of X. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in United States Steel by 57.2% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in United States Steel by 37.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in United States Steel by 45.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in United States Steel by 4.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.