Vale (NYSE:VALE) Shares Up 1.7%

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s stock price shot up 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.05 and last traded at $11.92. 8,532,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 26,955,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research lowered Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BNP Paribas raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.17.

Vale Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.55 and a 200-day moving average of $11.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.97 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.3698 dividend. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a yield of 12.1%. Vale’s payout ratio is 64.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Vale during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Vale during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 111.1% during the 1st 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.