Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $3.33 Million Stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,742 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $3,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in United States Steel in the 4th quarter valued at about $525,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,510,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United States Steel during the fourth quarter worth $554,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in United States Steel in the fourth quarter worth $2,844,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in United States Steel by 81.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of X stock opened at $41.81 on Thursday. United States Steel Co. has a 1 year low of $26.92 and a 1 year high of $46.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.79.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.38). United States Steel had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 2.46%. As a group, analysts anticipate that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on X shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of United States Steel in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America started coverage on United States Steel in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.94.

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.