United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's Why

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 6,700,721 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session's volume of 6,317,682 shares.The stock last traded at $51.62 and had previously closed at $53.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

X has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on United States Steel from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Glj Research lowered shares of United States Steel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.80.

United States Steel Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.13.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. United States Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of United States Steel by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in United States Steel by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in United States Steel by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in United States Steel by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,792 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company's stock.

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.