United States Steel Corporation Stock Hold Recommendation Reiterated (X)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has been reitereated by TheStreet Ratings as a hold with a ratings score of C. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including unimpressive growth in net income, generally poor debt management and poor profit margins.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• X's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 1.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 6.3%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 2405.88% to $426.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, UNITED STATES STEEL CORP has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -45.88%.
• UNITED STATES STEEL CORP has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, UNITED STATES STEEL CORP continued to lose money by earning -$0.59 versus -$3.36 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.40 versus -$0.59).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Metals & Mining industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 154.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from -$86.00 million to -$219.00 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19 is relatively high when compared with the industry average, suggesting a need for better debt level management. Along with the unfavorable debt-to-equity ratio, X maintains a poor quick ratio of 0.87, which illustrates the inability to avoid short-term cash problems.

United States Steel Corporation engages in the production and sale of steel mill products in North America and Europe. The company operates in three segments: Flat-rolled Products (Flat-rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). United States has a market cap of $2.77 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are down 27.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full United States Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

 

For more information on United States Steel Corporation click any of the following:

• United States Steel Corporation Stock Price

• United States Steel Corporation Analyst Ratings

• United States Steel Corporation Key Stats & Profile

• United States Steel Corporation Earnings

• United States Steel Corporation Ratio Comparison

• United States Steel Corporation Growth Rates

• United States Steel Corporation Balance Sheet

• United States Steel Corporation Cash Flow

• United States Steel Corporation Income Statement