United States Steel (NYSE:X) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $42.90, but opened at $44.25. United States Steel shares last traded at $45.39, with a volume of 3,344,488 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on X shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of United States Steel in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United States Steel presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.22.

United States Steel Price Performance

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 cap of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.82. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.48 and its 200-day moving average is $38.71.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. United States Steel's payout ratio is 68.97%.

Institutional Trading of United States Steel

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United States Steel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,731,000. Third Point LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the first quarter worth $153,192,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United States Steel by 448.9% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,641,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,512 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP acquired a new position in United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth $50,795,000. Finally, NWI Management LP bought a new stake in United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at $48,946,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company's stock.

United States Steel Company 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.