Vale (NYSE:VALE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.66 and last traded at $8.69, with a volume of 5662268 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Vale Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.74 and a 200 day moving average of $10.45. The stock has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 4.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 3,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,720,100 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its position in shares of Vale by 60.6% during the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after acquiring an additional 8,288,112 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,300,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,660,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Vale by 395.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,152,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,889,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,969 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.