Vale (NYSE:VALE) Trading Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) were up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $11.54 and last traded at $11.50. Approximately 4,270,279 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 27,032,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. Wolfe Research cut Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

Vale Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.43.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.97 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 23.07%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its stake in Vale by 60.6% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 8,288,112 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Vale by 395.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,152,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,889,000 after buying an additional 5,707,969 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 3,952.2% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,343,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,758,000 after buying an additional 3,261,060 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Vale by 110.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,459,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vale by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,853,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

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.