United States Steel Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 144,733 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 99% compared to the typical volume of 72,708 call options.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $53.27. 7,436,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,052,539. United States Steel has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $54.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.00. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.82.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. United States Steel's revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in X. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United States Steel by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,558,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $698,791,000 after acquiring an additional 186,994 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in United States Steel by 7.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,970,755 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $421,368,000 after purchasing an additional 678,849 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in United States Steel by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,440,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,897,000 after purchasing an additional 666,844 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in United States Steel by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,788,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $162,747,000 after acquiring an additional 68,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in United States Steel by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,862,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $131,313,000 after buying an additional 22,380 shares during the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on X. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of United States Steel in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of United States Steel in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United States Steel from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.37.

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.