A new court filing shows that President Donald Trump may allow a merger agreement between U.S. Steel (X) and Nippon Steel (NISTF) to move forward. This filing from the Trump administration seeks to delay a ruling in a lawsuit against the Committee on Foreign Investment. This lawsuit was filed by U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel after it recommended stopping the merger.
The Trump administration wants the briefing deadlines delayed by 21 days, while oral arguments would be moved to April 24. The filing from the Department of Justice notes this would allow the U.S. to complete discussions with the two companies about the merger. If that can happen, it could remove the need for a ruling in the lawsuit. The filing still needs court approval before the delays go into effect.
What Does This Mean for the U.S. Steel & Nippon Steel Merger?
Experts are taking the filing as a sign that President Trump supports a merger between the two companies. This would be a change from his current stance, which would allow Nippon Steel to take a minority stake in U.S. Steel.
A deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel could revitalize the struggling U.S. company, which has fallen behind Nucor (NUE) in steel production. This could appeal to President Trump as he is pushing for more local production via tariffs. He’s already placed a 25% import tariff on steel and aluminum, with an extra 25% on those metals if they come from Canada.
Today’s news has investors excited, with X stock up 2.54% as of this writing. That builds on a 17.83% increase year-to-date.
Is X Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for U.S. Steel is Moderate Buy based on four Buy and three Hold ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $41.33, a high of $43, and a low of $40. This represents a potential 3.35% upside for X stock.
See more X stock analyst ratings
Questions or Comments about the article? Write to editor@tipranks.com