Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, steel producer United States Steel
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at U.S. Steel's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
U.S. Steel facts
| Headquarters (Founded) | Pittsburgh (1901) |
| Market Cap | $8.2 billion |
| Industry | Steel |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $16.46 billion |
| Management | CEO John Surma, Jr. (since 2004) CFO Gretchen Haggerty (since 2003) |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 2% |
| Cash/Debt | $643 million / $3.66 billion |
| Competitors |
AK Steel ArcelorMittal Nucor |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 93% of the 2,060 members who have rated U.S. Steel believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include TMFDavidRivers and jerry80118.
Just last month, TMFDavidRivers brought U.S. Steel's improving fundamentals to our community's attention: "They seem to be curbing expenses while sustaining an upward trend in revenue."
U.S. Steel's large scale and high degree of operating leverage continue to make it a potent play on the rebound of global steel demand. Over the next five years, U.S. Steel is even expected to grow its bottom line (30% per annum) at a much faster pace than rivals AK Steel (10%), Arcelor (-32.6%), and Nucor (15%), as well as other steel plays like POSCO
CAPS member jerry80118 elaborates:
Steel is in growing demand and the supply is not able to keep up. ... I see huge demand in China and in the US/Canada and in Europe. As economy recovers there will be a much stronger demand for steel partially driven by the recovery of the auto industry to be followed by the construction industry in another year. ... Price of steel may be well north of $1000 per ton soon. US Steel $78 by end of 2011 and 100 by end of 2012.
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