Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on United States Steel (NYSE:X)

United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 101,458 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 42% compared to the typical daily volume of 71,636 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United States Steel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in X. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United States Steel by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,558,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $698,791,000 after acquiring an additional 186,994 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United States Steel by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,291,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $315,790,000 after purchasing an additional 929,762 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 4,788,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,747,000 after purchasing an additional 68,230 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of United States Steel by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,773,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,242,000 after purchasing an additional 174,394 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United States Steel by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,862,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,313,000 after buying an additional 22,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on X shares. Bank of America started coverage on United States Steel in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on United States Steel from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of United States Steel from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.70.

United States Steel Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of United States Steel stock opened at $40.24 on Tuesday. United States Steel has a 52-week low of $26.92 and a 52-week high of $43.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.24 and a 200 day moving average of $36.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.86.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that United States Steel will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. United States Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

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.