California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,432 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in United States Steel were worth $11,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of United States Steel by 36.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 4.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 23.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 33,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 6,261 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of United States Steel by 3.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 225,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,958,000 after buying an additional 8,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of United States Steel during the third quarter valued at $7,590,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

United States Steel Stock Down 1.7 %

X opened at $38.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.79. United States Steel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.92 and a fifty-two week high of $44.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.55.

United States Steel (NYSE:X) last announced 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, research analysts expect that United States Steel Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

United States Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. United States Steel’s payout ratio is 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on X. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of United States Steel in a report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of United States Steel from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United States Steel from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United States Steel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.32.

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.