Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Cuts Holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its stake in shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Free Report) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,125,902 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.13% of United States Steel worth $10,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in X. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United States Steel during the 4th quarter valued at about $130,731,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth about $50,795,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,291,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $315,790,000 after purchasing an additional 929,762 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,145,000. Finally, Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd bought a new position in United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,384,000. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company's stock.

United States Steel Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:X traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $44.07. 6,738,938 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,527,368. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.30.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on X. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America assumed coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.94.

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.