Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 131,973 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 92% compared to the average daily volume of 68,576 call options.
Vale Stock Performance
VALE traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,724,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,935,783. The stock has a market cap of $62.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale has a twelve month low of $12.22 and a twelve month high of $19.31.
Vale (NYSE:VALE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. Vale had a return on equity of 23.82% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $10.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vale will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.
Vale Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th were given a dividend of $0.1541 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 8.6%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.37%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VALE. Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $12.20 to $19.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Vale by 155.1% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Vale in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Vale by 423.1% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Vale by 2,502.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.90% 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.