United States Steel (NYSE:X) Price Target Raised to $45.00

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Price Performance

X opened at $40.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $43.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.83. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86.

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, analysts predict that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of X. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in United States Steel by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,558,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $698,791,000 after purchasing an additional 186,994 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,291,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $315,790,000 after buying an additional 929,762 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,788,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,747,000 after acquiring an additional 68,230 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in United States Steel by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,773,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,242,000 after acquiring an additional 174,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,862,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $131,313,000 after acquiring an additional 22,380 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.