Is United States Steel Corporation a Buy?

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an iconic name in the global steel business. And recently results have started to pick up after a deep industry downturn. Does that make U.S. Steel a buy today? A quick comparison to U.S. steel giant Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) will help answer that question.

United States Steel's business is still largely built on blast furnaces. These are a primary source of steel, but require high utilization rates to turn a profit (U.S. Steel's capacity utilization in the third quarter was around 66%). There's a global oversupply of the metal, which has been a big problem. U.S. Steel has lost money in seven of the last eight years, with the headwind of high costs a major contributing factor. Although it looks like this year will likely end on a positive note, it's important to remember the assets that underpin U.S. Steel's operations.

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Source: Fool.com