Jefferies Financial Group Lowers United States Steel (NYSE:X) Price Target to $40.00

United States Steel (NYSE:X) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 19.90% from the stock’s current price.

X has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Glj Research raised shares of United States Steel from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.57 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

NYSE:X opened at $33.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.31. United States Steel has a 1-year low of $26.92 and a 1-year high of $48.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.88.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. United States Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United States Steel will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 9.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management increased its position in United States Steel by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in United States Steel by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 44,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 18,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. 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.