On March 1, 2023 at 11:20:52 ET an unusually large $223.78K block of Put contracts in United States Steel (X) was bought, with a strike price of $28.00 / share, expiring in 142 days (on July 21, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 2.08 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 98.08 percentile of all recent large trades made in X options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where all large block option trades are tracked.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 3.20% Downside

As of March 1, 2023, the average one-year price target for United States Steel is $29.65. The forecasts range from a low of $18.18 to a high of $44.89. The average price target represents a decrease of 3.20% from its latest reported closing price of $30.63.

The projected annual revenue for United States Steel is $15,565MM, a decrease of 26.11%. The projected annual EPS is $2.19, a decrease of 78.54%.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 839 funds or institutions reporting positions in United States Steel. This is an increase of 11 owner(s) or 1.33% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to X is 0.23%, an increase of 28.86%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 9.02% to 179,141K shares. The put/call ratio of X is 1.51, indicating a bearish outlook.

What are large shareholders doing?

IJH – iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF holds 7,235K shares representing 3.19% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,932K shares, representing an increase of 4.18%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in X by 25.93% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 6,360K shares representing 2.81% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,904K shares, representing a decrease of 8.56%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in X by 2.85% over the last quarter.

NAESX – Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares holds 5,420K shares representing 2.39% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 5,921K shares, representing a decrease of 9.24%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in X by 3.42% over the last quarter.

COWZ – Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF holds 5,096K shares representing 2.25% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 5,375K shares, representing a decrease of 5.48%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in X by 37.91% over the last quarter.

D. E. Shaw & holds 4,906K shares representing 2.17% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 4,326K shares, representing an increase of 11.82%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in X by 10.59% over the last quarter.

United States Steel Declares $0.05 Dividend

On February 2, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share ($0.20 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 13, 2023 will receive the payment on March 14, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.05 per share.

At the current share price of $30.63 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 0.65%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 0.75%, the lowest has been 0.14%, and the highest has been 2.20%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.45 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 0.21 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.02. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 4.00%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

United States Steel Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Founded in 1901, the United States Steel Corporation is a Fortune 250 company and leading integrated steel producer. With extensive iron ore production and an annual raw steelmaking capability of 26.2 million net tons, U. S. Steel produces high value-added steel products for the automotive, infrastructure, appliance, container, and energy industries. The company’s Best of BothSM integrated and mini-mill technology strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With renewed emphasis on innovation and customer focus, the company produces cutting-edge products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high-strength steel. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe.

This article originally appeared on Fintel