Morgan Stanley Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for United States Steel (NYSE:X)

United States Steel (NYSE:X)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $39.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United States Steel from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on United States Steel in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

United States Steel Price Performance

Shares of X stock opened at $36.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. United States Steel has a twelve month low of $26.92 and a twelve month high of $48.40.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 4.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of X. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 61.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 7,835 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 3.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United States Steel in the second quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 76.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in United States Steel by 9.4% during the third quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 3,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.