United States Steel (NYSE:X) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 6,700,721 shares changed hands 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on X. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Glj Research cut shares of United States Steel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.80.

United States Steel Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. United States Steel's payout ratio is 68.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in United States Steel by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. increased 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in United States Steel by 45.3% during 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 period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.