U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) finished almost 3% lower in today’s trading after President Joe Biden claimed that the company will remain American despite Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s (OTC:NSTIF) $14 billion acquisition attempt. Speaking at the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, Biden highlighted that U.S. Steel should stay “American owned, operated by American union steelworkers, the best in the world.” The proposed merger is currently opposed by both President Biden and the U.S. Steelworkers union.
Furthermore, Biden is considering tripling the tariff rate on steel and aluminum imported from China from 7.5% to 22.5% due to their artificially low prices. Although there are some concerns about increasing inflation with such a move, a senior administration official pointed out that prices are much lower than their peak and that the tariffs are worth it to protect American Jobs.
Is U.S. Steel a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on X stock based on one Buy, four Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 48% rally in its share price over the past year, the average X price target of $51.75 per share implies 32.25% upside potential.
