Vale (NYSE:VALE) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $12.68. Vale shares last traded at $12.6390, with a volume of 9,487,759 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on shares of Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Vale to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.96.

Vale Trading Down 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $57.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.39 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Vale by 171.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,128 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Greenline Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 336,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,651,000 after buying an additional 92,773 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,219,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,057,000. Institutional investors 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.