United States Steel Corporation Stock Sell Recommendation Reiterated (X)

Editor's Note: 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.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a sell with a ratings score of D+ . The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, poor profit margins and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

• EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Jim Cramer's Protégé, Dave Peltier, only buys Stocks Under $10 that he thinks could potentially double. See what he's trading today with a 14-day FREE pass

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13 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 0.89, which illustrates the inability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Metals & Mining industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, UNITED STATES STEEL CORP underperformed against that of the industry average and is significantly less than that of the S&P 500.
• The gross profit margin for UNITED STATES STEEL CORP is currently extremely low, coming in at 6.10%. Regardless of X's low profit margin, it has managed to increase from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, X's net profit margin of -1.11% significantly underperformed when compared to the industry average.
• X's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 25.34%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
• X, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 5.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 6.9%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.

United States Steel Corporation produces and sells 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 $3.04 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are down 11.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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.

It's Official: Action Alerts PLUS beats the S&P 500 with Dividends Reinvested! Cramer and Link were up 16.72% in 2012. Were you? See what they are trading for 14-days FREE

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