Vale (NYSE:VALE) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $9.42 and last traded at $9.43, with a volume of 3802351 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VALE. Wolfe Research cut Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.91.

Vale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.86. The company has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.46, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 701,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,783,000 after acquiring an additional 8,489 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 13.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 35,183 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at $182,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 89.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 9,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.