United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 7,288,904 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 11,919,654 shares.The stock last traded at $36.66 and had previously closed at $34.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.32.

United States Steel Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.23. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24 and a beta of 1.88.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel Co. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Palouse Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by 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.