Vale (NYSE:VALE) Hits New 12-Month Low at $11.52

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Vale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.78.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued 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 payout ratio is presently 64.48%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 11,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Vale by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 30,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Vale by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Vale by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 14,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Vale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.