[Ferro-Alloys.com] United States Steel Corporation (X) beat analysts' earnings per share estimates when it reported results after the close on Thursday, Aug. 1. However, the stock opened Friday, Aug. 2, below its 50-day simple moving average at $14.28.

It has been a mixed picture for the steel industry since tariffs were set. U.S. Steel may have beat on earnings, but the company also announced that two blast furnaces will be idled in the coming months.

The 25% tariff on imported steel was set in March 2018 and was supposed to help domestic steel producers, but some say that this strategy has not worked. The tariffs raised the cost of production for companies using steel such as the automobile and the oil and gas industries. As these industries slow, demand for steel declines. For U.S. Steel, concerns are that its $1.6 billion investment in expansion is drawing down its needed cash.

The stock is fundamentally cheap with a P/E ratio of just 3.21 and a dividend yield of 1.38%, according to Macrotrends. The stock closed Friday, Aug. 2, at $13.27, down 27.2% year to date and in bear market territory at 46.4% below its 2019 high of $24.74 set on Feb. 21. (Investopedia)

• [Editor:kangmingfei]