Shelton Capital Management Lowers Stock Holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Shelton Capital Management lowered its position in shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,758,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,734,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United States Steel by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in United States Steel by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 226,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,684,000 after acquiring an additional 8,408 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $162,747,000 after acquiring an additional 68,230 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of 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. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on X. Bank of America assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.65.

United States Steel Trading Down 9.7 %

Shares of X stock opened at $40.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.79. United States Steel Co. has a 12-month low of $26.92 and a 12-month high of $46.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.62.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. Equities research analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

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

United States Steel 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.