Vale (NYSE:VALE) Sets New 1-Year Low at $11.52

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $11.52 and last traded at $11.59, with a volume of 7871022 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VALE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Vale Trading Down 2.8 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a net margin of 19.10% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3182 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.48%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 9,254,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,007,000 after purchasing an additional 150,918 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Vale by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Vale by 49,161.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,440,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,705,000 after buying an additional 2,435,459 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Vale by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,724,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,112,000 after acquiring an additional 289,495 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at $290,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently 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.