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United States Steel (X) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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United States Steel (X - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $21.49, moving +0.05% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.95% gain on the day.

Heading into today, shares of the steel maker had lost 22.93% over the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector's loss of 4.11% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.87% in that time.

X will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.59, up 479.34% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.56 billion, up 137.68% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.56 per share and revenue of $19.38 billion. These totals would mark changes of +368.95% and +98.93%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for X should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.17% higher. X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at its valuation, X is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 1.71. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 4.08.

The Steel - Producers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 18, putting it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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