Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $16.50 to $15.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vale traded as low as $10.18 and last traded at $10.36. 6,153,530 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 26,264,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.40.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.17.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Vale during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 111.1% during the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 3,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.49. The company has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.3698 per share. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.09%.

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.