Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.05 and last traded at $11.92. Approximately 8,532,403 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 26,955,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.72.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have commented on VALE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.17.
Vale Stock Up 0.5 %
The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.43. The firm has a market cap of $52.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93.
Vale (NYSE:VALE – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 23.07%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Vale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.3698 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.09%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its stake in Vale by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 17,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Vale by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 6.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 6.1% during the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Vale by 3.0% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.