Sanders Morris Harris LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lessened its stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Free Report) by 54.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,184 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,800 shares during the quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in United States Steel were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of United States Steel by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in United States Steel by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 911 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in United States Steel by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,880 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in United States Steel by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 49,730 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in United States Steel by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,891 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company's stock.

United States Steel Price Performance

X stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,675,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,190,309. United States Steel Co. has a 12 month low of $26.92 and a 12 month high of $54.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.45.

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

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. United States Steel's payout ratio is 68.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

X has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Glj Research lowered United States Steel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on United States Steel from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.80.

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.