Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $18.30 Million Stock Holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 518,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 226,887 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of United States Steel worth $18,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in United States Steel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of United States Steel by 339.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in United States Steel during the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United States Steel Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of X opened at $36.38 on Friday. United States Steel Co. has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $50.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.80.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on X shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.80.

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.