U.S. Steel (X) recently announced its plans to partner with Surface Enhancement Technologies, a part of the Lambda Technologies Group, to improve the quality of its tubular steel products. The improved tubular products would see a wider range of applications and has the potential to add significant value to U.S. Steel by increasing the shipment figures for the company in the years to come. The company competes with international steel giants like ArcelorMittal (MT), BaoSteel, Posco, Nippon Steel (NISTY) and ThyssenKrupp.

Our price estimate for U.S. Steel stands at $60.17, roughly 7% ahead of its current market price.

Our price estimate for U.S. Steel (X) stands at $60.17, roughly 15% ahead of market price. The company competes with international steel giants like ArcelorMittal (MT), BaoSteel, Posco, Nippon Steel and ThyssenKrupp. Below we recap U.S. Steel's full year 2010 results and examine how these numbers affect the road ahead for the company.

Understanding U.S. Steel's Performance in 2010

U.S. Steel reported revenues of $17.4 billion for 2010, an almost 60% increase from the $11 billion recorded in 2009. These figures are still below the peak of $23.8 billion in 2008 – before the steel industry felt the brunt of the global economic recession. The operations for the year, however, failed to generate a profit with $111 million in operating loss reported. But the fact that losses were in excess of $1.6 billion in 2009 shows that the company is recovering from the after-effects of the downturn.

Analyst Upgrades

• U.S. Steel (X) to buy from neutral and Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Edison International (EIX) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Analog Devices (ADI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T (T) to outperform from neutral and has a $35 target on the stock. Credit Suisse believes the impact from AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity will be less than expected and that the stock should benefit from its earnings growth and dividend yield.
• Goldman upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $94 from $79 based on improving copper fundamentals.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Valueclick (VCLK) to vuy from hold on expectations Google Instant (GOOG) could drive marketing traffic. The firm raised its target price for Valueclick shares to $15 from $11.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to buy from sell at Societe Generale.
• CarMax (KMX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to overweight from equal weight and said investor concerns regarding Advair and Avandia are overdone.
• Leerink upgraded Bristol-Myers (BMY) to outperform from market perform, citing management's pipeline execution. Shares were also upgraded at Citigroup this morning to buy from hold.
• Goldman upgraded Medco Health (MHS) to buy from neutral and raised its price target on shares to $76 from $67. The firm cites valuation and expectations that earnings will accelerate in 2H10 driven by a stronger generic outlook.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Blyth (BTH) was upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• IPC The Hospitalist Co. (IPCM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from market perform as it sees less headline risk from the Gulf of Mexico spill following Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. The firm upped its target for shares to $44 from $35.
• FBR Capital also upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to outperform from market perform as it views the valuation as attractive following the recent pullback in shares. The firm maintains a $35 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold on valuation; it views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target for shares to $39 from $36.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• News Corp. (NWS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Sprint (S) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

U.S. Steel (X - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, on revenue of $3.35 billion. Analysts were expecting a loss of $1.44 per share on revenue of $3.09 billion. The company also forecast a first-quarter loss in line with fourth quarter results, whereas analysts are forecasting a loss of 44 cents per share. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on GE.

This morning, X opened at $52.66. So far today the stock has hit a high of $53.40 and a low of $50.37. As of 12:00, X is trading at $51.11, down $5.12 (-9.1%). The chart for X looks bearish and S&P gives X a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded T. Rowe Price (TROW) to buy from hold due to valuation and solid core trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $55. Note the firm downgraded Franklin Resources to hold from buy (see below).
• KeyBanc upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to buy from hold based on stable domestic cost environment in 2010 and likelihood of sustained higher spot pricing. The firm has a $65 target on shares.
• Goldman upgraded Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) to buy from neutral, citing oil leverage, sizable resource base and free cash flow. The firm raised its target to $90 from $88.
• Darden (DRI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Carnival (CCL) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• AmerisourceBergen (ABC) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

It was good news bad news for the steel industry Tuesday. AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) and United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) both reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. But for U.S. Steel, it was the third straight quarterly loss as the economic downturn continued to drag down demand.

For the three months that ended in September, U.S. Steel said it lost $303 million, or $2.11 per share. That compares with a profit of $919 million, or $7.79 per share, in the same period of last year. Revenue for the quarter fell 61% to $2.82 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a loss of $2.87 per share on revenue of $2.72 billion.