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U.S. Steel (X) Closes Keystone Industrial Port Complex Sale

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United States Steel Corporation (X - Free Report) announced the completion of the sale of its non-core real estate asset, the Keystone Industrial Port Complex (“KIPC”) in Pennsylvania for around $160 million.

The sale facilitates U.S. Steel to extract incremental value from its portfolio of real estate assets. It would also help strengthen its cash position and support the funding required for the purchase of the remaining Big River Steel equity.

KIPC was acquired by NP Falls Township Industrial, LLC, an affiliate of NorthPoint Development, LLC. The acquisition includes 1.4 million square feet of industrial area and roughly 1,800 acres of land, an inland deep-water port and other logistics infrastructures like rail and heavy power.

The hot dipped galvanizing line will continue to be operated at the site by U.S. Steel.

Shares of U.S. Steel have surged 44% in the past year compared with 17% rise of the industry.

 

 

U.S. Steel projects adjusted EBITDA of $55 million for the fourth quarter. Adjusted loss per share is forecast to be 85 cents. Notably, the company reported a loss of $1.21 per share in the third quarter and a loss of 64 cents in the prior-year quarter.

U.S. Steel witnessed improvement in flat-rolled demand in the United States and Europe in the fourth quarter, backed by strength in end-markets such as automotive, appliance and packaging. The flow-through of higher steel prices, improved operations and cost-saving initiatives are driving performance in the ongoing month.

United States Steel Corporation Price and Consensus

 

United States Steel Corporation Price and Consensus

United States Steel Corporation price-consensus-chart | United States Steel Corporation Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

U.S. Steel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Bunge Limited (BG - Free Report) , BHP Group (BHP - Free Report) and Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW - Free Report) .

Bunge has a projected earnings growth rate of 43% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained around 11% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BHP has an expected earnings growth rate of around 32.4% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 20% in the past year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

Clearwater has an expected earnings growth rate of 1,960.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 74.6% in the past year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

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